‘Alarming’ number of over 50s out of work in Wales

There is an urgent need for policies to improve the job prospects for the over 50s, the Welsh assembly’s enterprise and business committee has warned.

There are 1.2 million people over 50 in Wales and more than a third of 50 to 64-year-olds are not working.

Chairman William Graham said this was “alarming” while work was “now a necessity – not a choice for the majority of this age group”.

Prime Cymru, a charity which helps older workers find work or set up their own businesses, told the AMs that the employers’ group the CBI has forecast that the UK will need 13.5 million new workers in the next 10 years and that there are only 7 million young people entering the workforce.