A recent study has shown that young people have taken two-thirds of all jobs created in 2010. Rather than this being an indication of employers wanting a fresh young workforce it is instead indicating that employers are going for the cheapest possible option when hiring.
A survey carried out by the Charted Institute of Personnel and Development found that Britons aged between 35 and 49 were missing out on finding new work this year as the majority of the 350,000 jobs generated in the UK went to candidates under 35. This is largely because under 35’s could be hired at less cost and were more prepared to accept temporary or part time work.
John Philpott, the CIPD’s chief economist, said: “Because middle aged workers are at, or approaching, their peak career earnings they may be less attractive to some employers than younger or older workers who can be employed at less cost.” The number of middle aged Britons currently working is now 3% lower than it was at the start of the recession. Mr. Philpott has stated that middle aged workers have been getting less support from the government as they focus the majority of their efforts on Britain’s next generation.
“The fact that such a large and core part of the workforce has been slow to benefit from the jobs recovery makes it easy to understand why so many people remain unconvinced that the economy is really on the up,” according to Mr. Philpott.
The CIPD survey also found that a third of new jobs went to the self employed but the gender pay gap had narrowed significantly with women’s pay packets increasing relative to men.
