Employment Hero’s February Jobs Report has found boomer employment at UK small and medium-sized businesses fell -5.8 per cent year on year in February, despite overall employment rising to 4.9 per cent.
The findings have added concerns that older workers are being squeezed out of the labour market and are turning to ‘CV botoxing’ – stripping years, dates and senior roles from their CVs – to appear younger and appealing to employers.
The Jobs Report found overall employment across UK small and medium-sized businesses increased 2.0 per cent month on month in February, yet boomer employment rose by just 0.3 per cent over the same period. The gap points to a jobs market that is moving ahead without some of its most experienced workers.
For people in mid-life and later career stages, a job search often sits alongside wider financial and caregiving responsibilities, as well as a professional identity built over decades.
The data comes after separate Employment Hero survey research found nearly six in 10 over-55s are not confident they could find a new job within three months if made redundant. They are also 25 per cent less likely to feel confident adapting to new technologies, compared to their younger counterparts. This paints a picture of a labour market where many older workers feel pressure not just to compete, but to catch-up on the ever changing technology landscape.
The combination of weaker employment growth and continued wage increases suggests the labour market is not simply cooling across the board. It may instead point to a more selective environment, with some older workers returning to work only where pay and role level feel worthwhile. For others, taking a pay cut may be a line they are not prepared to cross, particularly after long careers and at a stage of life where financial commitments remain high.
Wider data from Employment Hero’s survey found that 61 per cent of UK workers said the hiring process had made them think twice about looking for work at all, raising fears that poor recruitment experiences could weigh on job mobility across the wider economy. For older applicants, that friction may feel sharper, particularly if they already suspect their age is counting against them before they reach interview.
“When people feel like they need to strip years off their CV just to get a foot in the door, it’s usually a sign something in the hiring process isn’t quite working,” said Danniella Angel, Talent Acquisition Manager at Employment Hero. “For a lot of mid-life candidates, it’s less about vanity and more about worrying their experience won’t be judged fairly.
“I often speak to candidates who are more than capable of doing the job, but aren’t confident they’ll get past that first stage,” she adds. “That’s where a skills-based approach can really help. Tools like Employment Hero’s Recruitment Agent shift the focus away from how a CV looks ‘on paper’, and focus on what someone can actually do, which helps create a much fairer, unbiased starting point.”
