More than 440,000 people aged 50+ now have a second job – up 30% in a decade
The number of people aged 50 and older with a second job has increased by more than 100,000 in 10 years to 440,352, according to new analysis from Rest Less.
Rest Less is a digital community and advocate for people aged over 50. It analysed a bespoke dataset from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which compares the number of people with a second job by age group in January – March 2023 with January – March 2013.
Rest Less’s analysis found that of the 1.27 million people in the UK with a second job, 35% of them were aged 50 and older, an increase from 31% over the last 10 years.
Table 1: Number of people by age with a second job, Jan-March 2013 vs Jan-March 2023
| Jan-March 2013 | Jan March 2023 | Change | % Increase | Proportion of 2013 total | Proportion of 2023 total | |
| 18-24 | 123,170 | 94,240 | -28,930 | -23% | 11% | 7% |
| 25-49 | 630,225 | 737,704 | 107,479 | 17% | 58% | 58% |
| 50-64 | 307,497 | 400,642 | 93,145 | 30% | 28% | 31% |
| 65+ | 32,199 | 39,710 | 7,511 | 23% | 3% | 3% |
| Total | 1,093,091 | 1,272,296 | 179,205 | 16% | 100% | 100% |
| Over 50s | 339,696 | 440,352 | 100,656 | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| Under 50s | 753,395 | 831,944 | 78,549 | 10% | 69% | 65% |
Stuart Lewis, Chief Executive of Rest Less, commented: “We’re seeing a steady rise in the number of over 50s with second jobs. For many professionals, midlife is a time of great transition and opportunity and some people opt to move to a portfolio career, using their talents and experience in a number of different areas such as advisory roles or non-executive board positions to maintain a broad set of interests.
‘For those less fortunate, there is also a darker side to the statistics. Unable to find secure and stable work due to age discrimination and a lack of flexible working opportunities, many are forced into taking unsecure low paid jobs and find themselves needing to juggle a number of part-time jobs in order to make ends meet – a trend that will have been exacerbated by high inflation and the current cost of living crisis.
‘Our members tell us that flexible work is one of the most important considerations they have when looking for employment opportunities and we have heard from a number of Rest Less members telling us that a lack of flexible working opportunities has resulted in them having to take on multiple part-time jobs in order to juggle work around other life, health and caring responsibilities – perhaps for ageing parents or kids or grandchildren.
‘Whilst we are pleased to report that more and more progressive employers are actively pursuing age inclusivity in their workforce and are putting flexible work at the heart of attracting and retaining older workers, there is still a long way to go before these practices are commonplace and accessible to the masses.”
Rest Less currently has more than 50,000 roles from age inclusive employers on its site, of which more than 8,000 are part-time. To search for a new role, click here.
CASE STUDY
Caroline Kennedy is 62 and lives with one of her three adult children at home in the West Midlands. Caroline has worked two jobs for the past 20 years – her main role is as a teaching assistant where she starts at 830 and finishes at 315. Her secondary role is wraparound club lead in the same school from 315 to 515. Across the two jobs, Caroline works 37.5 hours a week but in reality does much more than this.
Due to the cost of living crisis, Caroline says she is struggling to make ends meet and is seriously considering taking on some weekend part-time work as she is having to cut into her savings to live right now.
Despite this, Caroline says she enjoys her work and retirement is not on her horizon right now. She fully expects to continue to work beyond her state pension age but would love to reduce the number of hours she works at some point as her work can be physically and mentally exhausting.
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Notes to Editors
For media enquiries, please contact:
Aisling Gray
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About Rest Less
Rest Less (restless.co.uk) launched in early 2019 and is a digital community for people in their 50s, 60s and beyond. Rest Less is on a mission to help its members get more out of life and offers content guidance and resources on topics spanning Jobs and Careers, Volunteering, Learning, Money, Health and Lifestyle and Dating.