Research by TAEN – The Age and Employment Network shows that constituencies in the West Midlands have some of the highest rates of unemployment for the over-50s. The Birmingham, Ladywood, Erdington, Hodge Hill and Yardley seats have the highest number of older people out of work than any others in the United Kingdom.

In total, 8,395 over-50s in the West Midlands have been out of work for more than six months and, in 25 of the 27 seats being contested in the area on 6 May, the figures are above the national average.

Across the UK in 2009, there were up to 367,000 over-50s out of work and the number of 50+ men out of work for six months or more doubled (117.8 per cent) in the course of the year.

Chris Ball, Chief Executive of TAEN, says:

“Older workers are the silent victims of this recession and for most people in their 50s and 60s, this is their last chance in the labour market. As life expectancy increases and older people face pressures on their savings and pensions, remaining in work for as long as they want or need to should be encouraged.

“These figures only tell part of the story. Many more will have been forced into early retirement under the Default Retirement Age and others may simply have given up all hope of finding a new job and withdrawn from the labour market completely.

“We all know the power of the so-called ‘grey vote’ in the election. Given that the West Midlands has some of the highest over-50 unemployment rates in the UK, voters here should be asking all candidates in the run up to 6 May what their parties will do to support older workers to ensure that jobs and opportunities are available for them.

“Older people, including people of working age, are more likely to vote than younger people and, in close races, they could help to tip the balance in the final tally of votes.

“So we hope the candidates will be sharing with their electors their views on issues such as mandatory retirement and the need for policies to help older jobseekers get back into work as soon as possible.”

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Note to editors

The following is a breakdown of the number of over-50 JobSeeker’s Allowance claimants by Parliamentary constituency:

Constituency / JSA claimants over 50

These figures are based on the February 2010 ONS Labour Market Statistics. The national average is 166 per seat.

Birmingham, Ladywood has the highest number in the country, followed by Erdington, Hodge Hill and then Yardley in 2nd, 3rd and joint 4th respectively.