They also reveal that 19,000 fewer people over the age of 65 were working between July and September, with two-thirds of the decline occurring among women.  TAEN – The Age and Employment Network describes this as “a worrying development.”

Economic inactivity rates among older men rosewith 47,000more men over 50 becoming economically inactive in the last quarter, compared with a drop of 28,000 for women over 50.

Chris Ball, Chief Executive of TAEN, says:

“It is a matter of concern to see the number of over-65s in work fall. While this is a small drop, and within the margin of error, it is the first for many months and will need to be monitored closely.

“As we approach the repeal of the default retirement age in 2011, a sustained decline in working beyond 65 would be bad news for the Government.

“We hope that employers will not pre-empt the change in the legislation that will prevent them from retiring people purely on the grounds of age.

“No-one wants to work forever, but flexibly combining paid work and a pension makes a great deal of sense to increasing numbers of people. These figures suggest the general trend towards working on beyond 65 has been arrested for the time-being.

“Alongside this, long-term unemployment and benefit claimant rates continue to be highest among the over-50s, showing that they are still missing out on job openings and career development opportunities.”