"After a long period of decline the employment rate of people aged 50 and over has been increasing since 1993. The literature attributes this increase either to the period of economic growth over the last few years, a change in the attitude of this age group to work or a reduction in discrimination. This article describes the changing characteristics of older workers and the growth in their employment rate using quarterly data from the Labour Force Survey. Characteristics considered include level of education, occupation, industry of employment, marital status and ethnic group. It also looks at the growth in GDP and earnings. It then presents regression analyses in an attempt to identify the nature of the effects of the general economic situation and individual characteristics on the employment rate of older workers. The report concludes that the growth in the employment rate of older people is determined by an autoregressive process, average earnings growth and the changing ethnic composition of this age group. This report was written by Ulrike Hotopp of the Department of Trade and Industry."

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