Wales has seen a surge in the number of over 65s in full or part-time employment, according to the latest job figures from NatWest’s Regional Economic Tracker.
The number of over 65s currently employed in the Welsh economy rose by 11% to 58,000 in the 12 months up to September 2015, an overall rise of 72% since 2008.
The news is in sharp contrast to the number of 16-24 in employment across Wales which fell 1% to 182,700 in the same 12 month period, an overall fall of 6.2% since 2008.
The NatWest Regional Economic Tracker monitors employment levels in 12 regions across the UK showing where the fastest job growth has occurred on a quarterly basis.
The Welsh ‘Grey Grafters’ are taking advantage of Wales’ economic recovery which has meant that there are over 50,000 more people in employment across all age groups than in 2008, a rise of 3.8%. This wider trend looks set to continue as the number of people in jobs across all age groups also grew by 1.4% in the 12 months up to September 2015.
In terms of regional growth, Anglesey, Wrexham and Pembrokeshire were the leaders with the number of people in jobs in Anglesey rising 8% to 32,400, while in Wrexham and Pembrokeshire the numbers rose 6% to 67,200 and 58,200 respectively.
In terms of the worst regional performers, Caerphilly saw employment levels fall 3% to 76,300, followed by Neath Port Talbot (2% fall to 59,900) and Cardiff (1% fall to 167,400).
Seb Burnside, senior economist at NatWest, said: “It’s encouraging to see the Welsh economy generating more jobs, meaning there are now 50,000 more people in employment than there were before the recession. But with threats from a slowing global economy increasingly obvious it shows that we can’t be complacent about this performance. It will be important for businesses across the country to understand how issues like the slowdown in China affects their customers and plan appropriately.”
