Govt must tackle over 50s unemployment as SPA rises

Figures published today by the Office of National Statistics shows while there was an overall drop in the numbers of long-term employed, more than half of unemployed men aged fifty plus have been out of work for over a year. In comparison, the percentage of women in their 50s who had been unemployed for over a year was 40%. This follows the publication of a White Paper on state pension reform last week, which announced the state pension age will increase from 66 to 67 by 2028 with five yearly reviews. Michelle Mitchell, Age UK's charity director general said: "Now that the governme...