Record number of over-50s in UK working part-time, ONS data shows

Analysis reveals 26% increase in the last decade of people over 50 working part-time as perspectives on work and retirement shift

Record numbers of people in their 50s and older are in part-time work, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics, with one quarter of workers in their 50s working part-time.

In what has been hailed as a paradigm shift in how we view work and retirement, the data reveals that 3.6 million older people are working part-time in the UK: a record high and a 12% increase since 2021. It is also a 26% increase in the past decade and a 56% increase in the past two decades.