More people are choosing to return to work to combat soaring living costs, with those in their 50s coming out of early retirement to boost under-pressure finances, according to official data.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed there were 76,000 fewer people classed as economically inactive – those unable or choosing not to work – in the three months to October, at 8.9 million.
Among those aged 50-64, the fall was even more stark, with a drop of 84,000 of so-called economically inactive people, suggesting many of those who decided to retire in the pandemic are now returning to work.
The ONS added that there was a fall over the quarter of 49,000 in people citing retirement as a reason for inactivity.
“This tallies with other data which suggest more people in their 50s are thinking of going back to work, at a time when the cost of living is rising rapidly.
“With more people re-engaging with the labour market, there were more in employment and also more who were actively looking for a job.”
The overall inactivity rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points on the quarter to 21.5% in August to October – a U-turn on a recent period of rising inactivity.
The UK workforce has been shrinking in recent years due to rising numbers of long-term sick, as well as students, while a raft of people over 50 also took early retirement during the pandemic.
But rising costs are forcing people to rethink.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “More people are leaving the inactive masses, clearly keen to earn extra money as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies.”
She added: “With the fight for talent easing a little though, it’s welcome news on the inflation front as this may start to dampen down wage demand spiral, which the Bank of England fears could become embedded in the economy.”
