Employment gap for 50 to 64s narrows to 12.9 points in 2026

The employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years was 72.2% in 2026, an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the past year, though this change is not statistically significant. The employment rate gap between people aged 35 to 49 years and those aged 50 to 64 years was 12.9 percentage points in 2026, down from 14.1 percentage points in 2025 and 14.5 percentage points in 2023, a statistically significant decrease. The economic inactivity rate for those aged 50 to 64 was 25.7% in 2026, down from 26.1% in 2025 but still above the 2019 pre-pandemic rate of 25.5%. The average age of exit from the labour market in 2026 was 65.8 years for men, unchanged from 2025, and 65.1 years for women, up from 64.7 years in 2025.

The Department for Work and Pensions published these figures on 24 September 2026 in its release Economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over, trends over time: September 2026, based on Labour Force Survey data covering April to June 2026.