Older people are more active in the labour market than ever before. However, at 62%, the average employment rate of older workers remains far below that of 25-54 year-olds and substantial gaps remain by gender and skill level. In 2022, only 50% of older low-skilled workers were employed compared to 75% of their more educated counterparts. Boosting employment at older ages requires taking into account all the factors affecting the length and quality of working lives, such as rewarding longer working lives, tackling employer barriers and putting in place policies that help people to build their competencies while remaining healthy and active throughout their lives.
Ageing and employment
In many countries people are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. While this is good news for individuals, it poses a challenge for societies to provide for rising numbers of retirees, with the larger financial burden falling on younger generations. Giving people better choices and incentives to continue working at an older age is crucial for responding to the challenges of rapid population ageing.
Key messages
The inclusion of older workers within the workforce brings many advantages for employers, including experience, reliability, and a boost in firm productivity. Employers can support the integration of older workers by offering flexible working conditions, opportunities for continuous learning, eradicating age discrimination and by adapting responsibilities and schedules to suit their evolving capabilities and family obligations throughout their lives.
Facilitating career mobility for older workers is crucial in addressing the challenges and seizing the new opportunities presented by globalisation, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), and careers related to climate change. Supporting older individuals to adapt to changes in the labour market requires a life-course approach whereby workers can continuously upgrade and reskill and have access to good quality jobs that are not detrimental to their health and well-being.
In the context of an ageing workplace and persistent labour shortages, employers must cultivate fulfilling careers and increase worker engagement to retain talent of all ages. This series of outputs, focused on real-world case studies, contains actionable insights designed to support age-inclusive practices to maximise organisational success and productivity.
Context
Boosting employment is key to ensure longer working lives
Today, on average across the OECD countries, for every 100 workers there are 44 people aged 50 and over who are not in the labour force – either because they are inactive or in retirement. This number is expected to rise to 56 by 2050. In some countries, such as Spain, Poland, Italy and Greece, there could be up to 90 retired people, on average, for every 100 workers, while in Italy, the number of older inactive people could outnumber workers over the next two decades. Without sustained efforts to enhance the participation of older workers in the labour market, population ageing can put upward pressures on social spending and act as a significant drag on growth in living standards.
Retaining workers towards the end of their career is a major challenge
The inclusion of older workers within the workforce brings many advantages for employers, including experience, reliability, and a boost in firm productivity. Helping older people retain jobs is also important, as job loss at an older age is often associated with a higher risk of persistent unemployment or early exit from the labour force than for younger people. Yet many older workers continue to struggle to hold on to their jobs. On average across the OECD, less than 50% of workers aged 55-59 are still in the same job five years later. This ranges from over 70% in Norway and Iceland to around 30% in Türkiye, Austria and Korea.
Investing in talent and skill development of older workers remains a key priority
Persistent inequalities in the provision and take-up of training by age mean that older workers are frequently left without the right skills to flourish over longer working lives. On average across the EU, 35% of workers aged 55-64 years old took part in job-related formal or non-formal training in the last 12 months compared to 48% of those aged 35-54. This ranges from over 60% of older workers in Sweden to less than 10% in Greece and Türkiye. The low level of participation in training by older workers is a major problem for firms as it leads to lower productivity and the loss of experience as older workers’ skills become obsolete and they exit the workforce.
