TUC fears that older workers are 'being left on scrapheap'

OLDER workers are languishing in the dole queue after losing their jobs in the recession and find it difficult to get new ones, according to a new report.

The TUC voiced concern about a "steady rise" in the number of people over 50 who had been unemployed for more than six months, saying their skills and talents were going to waste.

Union leaders said they would be studying new jobless figures published today for any sign that older workers were still "trapped" in long-term unemployment.

Last month the number of older people out of work for longer than six months increased by 3,000 to 229,000, while those out of work for more than a year jumped by 11,000 to 134,000. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said every job loss was a "human tragedy" and those out of work for more than a year risked being permanently scarred by joblessness.

He said: "Long spells out of work can increase the likelihood of mental health problems and relationship breakdown, and devastate entire communities.

"People who have been unemployed for a long time have a much lower chance of finding work again. There is a real danger that the UK's older working population is being left on the scrapheap."

He urged the government to extend its employment guarantee for young people to anyone out of work for 18 months, to stop people "getting mired in semi-permanent joblessness".