The departure of huge swaths of over-50s from the UK workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic has been linked to wage inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
In August, former Treasury civil servant and current chairwoman of the John Lewis Partnership Dame Sharon White said, “Regardless of what has happened coming out of Covid, if the labour market is that tight, if we continue to have far fewer people in work [or] looking for work – you’ve inevitably got more inflation and more wage inflation.”
Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis shows there are around 500,000 fewer people in paid work in the UK during the first quarter of 2022 than before the Covid-19 pandemic. Official statistics reveal that this is due, in part, to over-50s choosing to leave the workforce. Brexit has also been a source of churn for the labour market with around 100,000 fewer EU workers than before the pandemic.
