Employment Rate According to Eurostat, “The employment rate of older people has increased in both in the long term since 2002 and in the short term since 2009. The positive trend has been consistent for both men and women over the entire time period. Because the employment rate for older women has grown faster than for older men, the gap between men and women has narrowed slightly“. Which means that at least part of the dreaded ‘dependency’ crisis has been solved: less 55 to 64 year olds are dependent, more have a job (which means that the denominator of the dependency ratio also increased). Developments in countries like Germany and Italy are in fact: spectacular. Even in Spain – which saw a mind numbing increase of unemployment after 2008 – the percentage of 55 to 64 years old with paid work increased. The crisis struck countries Portugal, Cyprus and Greece were however the only countries were the employment rate for older people decreased, due to the increase in unemployment. Aside for the consequences for the dependency ratio, a high employment rate for 55 to 64 year olds is of course a positive development anyway – at least as long as it’s not caused by an increase of crappy jobs. Work has to be dignified, in some way or another. And surely so for seniors.
Source: Graph of the day. Employment of ‘older’ people in the EU | Real-World Economics Review Blog
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