Nothing to see here: the baby boomers and unemployment.

There is no escaping the fact that as a country we are going through one of the worst recessions in history and it is the general population who are paying for it, whether it be through increased food and petrol prices or unemployment. 

It is practically impossible to get through the day recently without a new statistic on the latest unemployment figures in Britain. The majority of these statistics relate to the working-age population as a whole, but there is also a large focus put onto those aged 16-25.

Unemployed persons of the 16-25 age range are now fashionably referred to as NEETS – not in education, employment or training. This is also the group of people who are said to be most affected by being unemployed for long periods of time – with the lack of opportunities available presently, this could be a ‘lost generation’, a whole group of people who won’t be able to access the education and training their parents did. This isn’t due to their incompetence or their lack of will, it is purely because they have had the opportunities that previous generations have had taken away from them. Whether it’s the cutting of EMA, the trebling of university fees, or the cuts in the numbers of apprenticeships on offer, young people are feeling the effects of recession and will continue to do so for much longer than many other groups in society.

The plight of Britain’s young people is one that deserves to be recognised, but I do feel that there is another section of society that is being ignored. This group is made up of those people who are towards the older end of the working age scale, but who still have a few years to go until they are able to be officially recognised as retired. Generally, they are 50 or older; part of the baby boom generation.

When searching for the breakdown of Britain’s unemployment statistics, they tend to be split into two groups – those aged 16-25, and those aged 25 to retirement, sometimes classed as ‘older workers’. Although it is fairly difficult to find more specific figures, there are some available for those who look hard enough. This is particularly galling when you realise that the USA keeps fantastic statistics on this area - breaking down the figures into much smaller age ranges - which are much easier to find.

What is clear from the figures that I have been able to find, is that it is those aged over 50 who are being hit hard and finding it far harder to recover. 

On average, those from this age range who find themselves unemployed are the least likely to find work again; even during good economic times. For example, in the third quartile of 2004, 50.1% of those aged 50 and over found employment again within three months. Within the first half of this year, this figure had been halved to 25.6%. It is also this group which is the second most likely to be made redundant, after the 16-25s.

Clearly, some of these figures will not be completely accurate – there are always some that fall between the cracks, and as a larger percentage of the population this group is always going to be slightly more affected than others – but these are still alarming.

So what does this mean in reality for those people who are caught in this trap? 

The majority of these will have been working for the past 30-40 years. Many will own their own homes or be coming to the end of their mortgage. For those who have still not finished their payments, they may lose their homes, just as they thought they would be reclaiming them from the banks and building societies.

Although some will be lucky enough for their children to be independent at this stage, there will be some whom still have them living at home and dependent upon them. For the latter group, this will have an impact on their children, too, who will soon learn the uncomfortable truths of recession.

Losing employment at any stage of life is a difficult thing to overcome but after potentially decades in the same industry which may have gone into decline it can be even more difficult. Although there are schemes available to help people retrain to find jobs in alternative areas, these are often difficult to obtain help from.

As a society, we are obsessed with youth. Everyone wants to look younger, feel younger, do everything that young people do. Despite so many new laws implemented to address the issues of age discrimination, we tend to shun the positive aspects of being more experienced in life. These people often have a wealth of knowledge that can be shared with the rest of their organisations to enhance both them, and society as a whole.

As our population ages, this problem will only become more acute. Not only will we lose more of our older workers, there will be less of them available to train and support the next generation.  

It is important that we do not lose sight of this group of people, when so many people seem to be turning their attention elsewhere.We need to stop prioritising youth over experience and knowledge.