New research warns supporting older workers is now an economic necessity

With Europe’s old-age dependency ratio* projected to increase to 52% in 2050, supporting older workers to stay in the workforce for longer is now an economic necessity, according to new research from the EU’s social and employment agency.

However, Eurofound's new report Keeping older workers in the labour force also warns that, despite an increase in their employment rate - by almost 20 percentage points during 2010–2023 - the risk of long-term unemployment remains greater for this age group at 13.5 percentage points higher than among mid-career workers.

Europe's population has experienced a natural decline since 2014, cushioned only by net migration, with almost 40 million workers aged 55 or over in the EU by 2023. But despite this demographic trend and the increase in labour market participation of older workers, findings show ageism and discrimination persist in workplaces.

Job quality for these workers is, however, generally better for older employees - perhaps driven by the healthy worker effect where employees tend to retire earlier from worse-quality jobs although overall, older women have worse job quality than older men.

The report examines job quality differences across various age groups and analyses differences in job quality within the group of older workers. The report also explores the push and pull factors influencing employment trends across Europe and delves into the policies and practices implemented by Member States to keep older workers in the workforce.

Job quality profiles are therefore important to understand inequalities among older workers. Profiles highlight that one third of older employees work in ‘empowered jobs’ with good job quality, while one fifth are in ‘high-risk’ jobs, associated with low mental well-being, financial insecurity and a poorer work–life balance.

The report includes several policy pointers to address the issue, including ways to reward work and encourage later retirement, manage ageism in the workplace, and introduce flexible retirement models. Given the scale of the issue, and Europe's broader demographic crisis, recommendations also extend beyond the workplace, for example to increase access to quality healthcare services as a significant number of older workers retire early primarily to provide care.