OLDER people living in the north of England are more likely to be out of work that those in the south, a report claimed today.
Ippr north (Institute for Public Policy Research) revealed that 32% of people aged over 50 in the north (just over one million) were unemployed compared to 24% in the south of England.
According to the Newcastle-based organisation's report, The Sand Timer, just over one million people over 50 were out of work in the north, compared to just over 3.8 million over 50 in the south, where the population is much larger.
The think tank said getting people aged over 50 back into the job market was increasingly important because of Britain's ageing population.
The report argued that action needed to be taken to remove the barriers that obstruct older people from accessing jobs.
The report recommends a package of measures to help cut unemployment in the north, including better access to training and improving transport links to allow people to travel further for work.
Sue Stirling, director of ippr north, said: "While there has been considerable progress in recent years, significant pockets of unemployment still exist and particular groups of people are still far more likely to suffer worklessness.
"Nationally, unemployment rates fell last month, but full employment in every region is still some way off ."
