The Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveals that the demographic experiencing the greatest acceleration in workforce entry in Ireland is that of pensioners. Despite making up a mere 2.6% – approximately 64,700 – of almost 2.5 million employed individuals as at late May, the number of individuals over 65 taking up jobs surged by 11.2% over the past year. This spike is the largest witnessed in any age grouping, as recent CSO estimations show.
Increasing living costs and housing woes are being fingered as primary reasons propelling the surge in pension-age individuals either returning to or extending their stay in the workforce. Celine Clarke, the chief spokesperson at Age Action, expressed last year that the prevalence of housing debt being carried into seniority is higher than in past times.
Furthermore, she pointed out that the consistent lag of the state pension relative to inflation rates is causing more elderly people to suffer or risk suffering from deprivation and impoverishment. As a result, a growing number of those who are capable of working are endeavoring to do so to bridge the gap between home upkeep expenses and what the state pension offers them.