Older workers can help grow economy

WE know the economy of the North East is struggling to keep up with more affluent areas such as the South East, but is its relative lack of older workers one of the factors holding it back?

- ROB PARSONS

That's the obvious conclusion from a new study by the Centre for Ageing Better charity which found "significant regional variations" in the employment of people over the age of 50.

There are a million more older workers in the South East region compared to the North East, which the report estimated to be delivering an additional boost to the local economy worth up to £86bn every year.

Part of this is the fact that the South East simply has more people. But it also has 75% of people between 50 and 64 in work, while the North East has fewer than two in three (66%) in work.

There was bad news for the North West too, which has the highest proportion of older people out of work because of ill-health, according to the State of Ageing 2025 report launched last week with an event in Manchester.