When businesses think about recruitment, they can easily concentrate on attracting younger workers. The latest employment figures suggest there may be another group worth considering.
Official PAYE statistics for August 2026 show that the number of payrolled employees aged 65 and over increased by 62,000 compared with August 2025. Over the same period, the number aged under 25 fell by 15,000.
That does not mean older workers are appropriate for every vacancy. It does suggest that the traditional assumption that people simply stop working when they reach their mid-sixties is becoming less reliable.
For smaller businesses, this could create opportunities.
An experienced employee may bring technical knowledge, customer-handling skills or management experience that would take years to develop internally.
Some people approaching or passing State Pension age may also want something different from their previous full-time career. They may prefer fewer days, shorter hours, project work or a role with less responsibility.
That can sometimes fit particularly well with the needs of a smaller business.
Consider, for example, a business that needs an experienced finance manager but cannot justify a full-time appointment. Someone with decades of experience who wants to work two days a week could potentially fill that gap.
The starting point should still be the job rather than the age of the applicant.
What skills does the business actually need? Does the role have to be full-time? Could two people share it? Is experience more valuable than qualifications in this particular position?
Flexible working can widen the pool of potential applicants at both ends of the age range.
There is another benefit. Mixing employees at different stages of their careers can create opportunities for knowledge transfer. An experienced worker may help develop younger colleagues, while newer recruits can bring different technical skills and perspectives.
Recruitment problems are often approached by asking, “Where can we find someone like the person who left?”
A better question may be, “What skills do we actually need, and who could provide them?”
The answer may be someone you had not previously considered