One in five low-paid workers in Ireland is over 50, according to a new report released today.
Researchers at UCD conducted the study, which provides the first comprehensive profile of Ireland’s older lower-paid workers.
It reveals that 80,000 of Ireland’s 420,000 low-paid workers are over 50.
Compared to similarly aged low-paid men, low-paid women over 50 make less money.
Older low-paid workers are less likely to be employed in the retail, hospitality, and food industries and are more likely to work in administrative and healthcare/caring positions.
Older low-paid workers are more likely to be the only wage earner in their household, live in 1-2 adult households, and own the homes they live in, with more than half of them being mortgage-free.
By contrast, most low-paid workers live in multi-adult and multi-worker households and are twice as likely to be renters.
Twenty low-paid older workers were interviewed as part of the study, and all of them cited their need to work because of their financial needs and concerns, among other factors.
“While income is important for this group, their participation and continued participation as workers is also linked to other objectives including better lifestyle balance and social interaction,” said Dr. Micheál Collins, lead author of the report.
“This research underscores a need to understand the participation of older workers in the labour market beyond the perspectives of earnings and productivity.”
Fellow author, Dr. Catherine Elliott O’Dare, said that understanding the scale of the group, their probable growth over time, and the set of influences that determine their participation in low-paid employment carries important implications for future policies for older workers.
The study was funded by a research bursary from the Low Pay Commission.
“It is easy to think of low-paid workers as younger workers taking on temporary low-paid jobs as they transition into better paid employment,” said Ultan Courtney, Chairman of the Low Pay Commission. “But this study draws our attention to the fact that older workers comprise one-fifth of the total low-paid population, with almost one in six workers over 50 receiving low pay.”