SUMMARY

This inquiry was concerned primarily with the extent to which old persons were employed in mid-1945, the readiness with which they were working, and the kind of work they were doing. At the time of the inquiry the demand for labour was almost as great as in any of the preceding war years, however, and it was thought that under these circumstances the proportion of old persons in employment would be the maximum that could be expected under conditions of full employment. To this extent, therefore, the inquiry indicates the proportion of old persons who might be expected to remain in employment in the future.

In mid-1945 approximately 28% of all persons aged 60 and over, (20% of all over insurable age,) were in employment. The question arises, was that figure the result of increased employment during the war? A direct answer to the question is not possible, since there are no comparable figure for years later than 1931. In 1931, however, 34% of all persons aged 60 and over were in employment or seeking employment. Compared with 1931 there had, therefore, been a decline in the proportion of old persons in employment or seeking employment. In 1945, 53% of men aged 60 and over were in employment, compared with 63% who were working or seeking work in 1931. On the other hand, there was only a slight decline, from 10% to 9%., in the proportion of women in employment.

It is possible, of course, that by 1939 there had been an even greater fall in the proportion of old persons in employment: a fall which was checked by the war and even reversed to some extent. It is estimated that the number of old persons employed in the manufacturing industries did, in fact, increase during the war years. Taking into consideration the attitudes of old persons toward employment, however, (these are noted below), as well as the figures quoted above, it may be argued that if the war years halted a decline in the proportion of old persons in employment they did no more than act as a brake on a long-term decline which may continue in the future.

The majority of men aged 60 and over who were in employment in mid-1945 were either labourers, (21%), operatives, (44%), or self-employed, (16%). Compared with the remainder of the working population, however, fewer old persons were operatives or labourers and more were self-employed. The proportion of old persons who were self-employed increased in successive age-groups. During the war, however, the proportion of old persons who had become self-employed had decreased considerably in comparison with pre-war years.

A high proportion of old persons who were in employment in mid-1945 may only have remained in employment because they were self-employed. One in ten of all old persons in employment were shopkeepers, for instance, many of whom lived on their own premises and were, therefore, attached to their employment in more than one way.

Old persons were employed in the manufacturing industries less frequently than the remainder of the working population and in services more frequently. This may have been due partly to the great extent to which younger people were concentrated in the war industries by administrative action, but a comparison of the industries in which old persons had been engaged before the war with those in which they were employed in 1945 showed few differences. Industrially, therefore, old persons would not seem to be very mobile, and there is evidence to suggest that their distribution between various industries and occupations had become settled when they were between the ages of forty and fifty. Such immobility among old persons may arise from their unwillingness to venture into unfamiliar fields of work or from the fact that no suitable jobs, or no jobs adapted to their capacities, existed in the alternative industries open to them.

Nevertheless, old persons who were in employment seem to have worked normal hours, to have been mainly paid time-rates, and to have had an advantage over other workers only in that they took less time to travel to work from their homes.

The majority of old persons in employment in 1945 worked under economic compulsion. Only 12% of old persons said that they not only preferred to work but intended to do so for as long as possible. The consequences of leaving work were severe. Analyses of the sources of income, (other than pensions), available to all old persons showed that those at work less frequently had such other sources of income than those not at work. A considerable number of old persons not in employment were dependent upon their children for these other sources of income, however. If the old persons in the lower economic groups retired, therefore, an additional burden was placed on their children.

It is apparent from what has been said that there is a conflict, so far as many old persons are concerned, between the consequences of leaving work and the difficulties of carrying on with work. The report shows also that there are peaks of retirement at pensionable ages. For instance, a number of those still in employment in 1945 said that they were only waiting for their pension before retiring. It would seem, therefore, that aided by the minimum security offered by a pension the conflict is most often resolved by the old person deciding that retirement is the lesser of two evils. The better the pension the more likely they are to retire.

Whether in or out of employment old persons would appear to be as well housed as the remainder of the population, and a high proportion had more living space than was generally available. It can be estimated that 600,000 old persons were living alone, however, the majority of them women, and it would seem that such deficiencies of accommodation as exist occur mainly in this group.

The report as a whole should be regarded as a broad outline of the position of old persons outside institutions in mid-1945, with particular reference to their employments. It is hoped that subsequent investigations will fill in the details and examine afresh the conclusions reached from the data contained in the following pages.