UK Looks at Over-50 Unemployment Problem

According to a new study, the UK government needs to do more to increase job opportunities for unemployed workers aged over 50 to prevent a loss of skills and experience costing the economy billions of pounds.

The study by the public accounts committee said there were insufficient data to determine whether the UK government's New Deal 50 Plus programme was working effectively.

158,000 older workers had found jobs under the programme at a cost of £246.5m between 2000 and September last year. This still left "up to one million people in this age group who want to work but are being held back for a variety of reasons", according to the study.

Looking around the US, I'd say that many in this age group struggle with the same issue. Corporate downsizing and right-sizing have contributed significantly to this problem.

More here.