Chancellor faces challenge in reversing ‘Great Retirement’ that has decimated workforce
British over-55s who left their jobs during the pandemic are the least likely to return to work in the G7, PwC has found, in a blow to Jeremy Hunt’s efforts to boost the number of older workers.
A “Great Retirement” during Covid-19 has left Britain with a quarter of a million more 55- to 64-years olds who are economically inactive – neither in work nor looking for work.
The trend has left Britain’s economy struggling with 1m vacancies and still below pre-Covid size.
A similar pattern of early retirement took hold in other major economies during the pandemic but other countries have made far more progress in returning to normal, PwC said.