Recent statistics suggest that the age demographics of the
workforce in Scotland may be changing. In particular, the number of
18 - 24 year olds claiming job-seekers allowance has doubled in
many local authority areas causing the Trade Union Congress to warn
that we are now "facing the biggest youth unemployment crisis in a
generation". As a result of the removal of the default
retirement age of 65 last month this may be the sign of things
come. Many employers are concerned about potential legal
action arising from having an enforced company retirement age
causing them to have no retirement age at all. This, combined
with a desire for many older workers to continue working beyond the
age of 65, is likely to mean that there will be greater numbers of
workers over the age of 65. This in turn may mean that there
are less jobs or career progression opportunities for younger
workers, particularly in the current challenging economic
climate. It will be interesting to see how these factors
influence youth unemployment statistics in the years to come. Have
you had any experience of changing age demographics in your
workplace? Do you think that the removal of the default
retirement age will impact on this? Does your organisation still
have a normal retirement age?
http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/thrown_on_the_scrapheap_aged_18_as_youth_unemployment_rockets_1_1953014