Over-50s 'face longer in dole queue'

Over-50s who lose their jobs are more likely to suffer long-term unemployment than any other age group, according to an analysis by a leading think-tank.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that nearly half (46 per cent) of those out of work over 50 have been unemployed for at least a year, a total of 182,000 people, and up from 31 per cent in 2009.

In recent years companies such as B&Q, Marks & Spencer, BT and Sainsbury's have led the way in employing older workers – the so called "grey panthers" – but the analysis suggests that fewer are finding jobs amid harsh economic conditions.

The findings will come as grim news for older employees, who are already facing having to delay their retirements because of plans to raise the pension age to 66 by 2020 for both men and women, with the prospect of further rises ahead.

Long-term youth unemployment is also rising. In the mid-2000s just over 11 per cent of unemployed 18-to-24-year-olds had been out of work for more than a year, but now the figure has risen to 27 per cent – a total of 198,000 people. The group has already been dubbed a "lost generation" of British workers.

Latest government figures show there are now 850,000 people classified as long-term unemployed – the highest figure since 1997, when Labour came to power.

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Nick Pearce, the IPPR's director, said: "Being out of work for more than a year can have a scarring affect, making it harder to get a job as well as having a negative impact on one's health and wellbeing."

This month figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that overall unemployment fell by 36,000 in the three months to the end of March to 2.46 million, the second quarterly drop in a row.