2nd place for part-time work

Working in an EU comparison: precarious figures for older people

The labor force participation of older people is well below the EU average, but the part-time rate is high.(Bild: APA/HERBERT PFARRHOFER)

Current figures from Statistics Austria show that Austria's labor market has several peculiarities. For example, we work significantly shorter hours than the EU average, but we are the European part-time champion. This brings problems with it.

The population is growing, especially among the over-65s, while the number of people in employment is stagnating. At the same time, the labor force participation of older people remains below the EU average, and Austria has the second highest part-time employment rate in the EU after the Netherlands. According to Statistics Austria, more than half of women over 35 work part-time.

Strong growth, strong ageing
While the labor market is currently relatively stable despite the weakening economy, it faces major problems in the longer term. According to a forecast by Statistics Austria, Austria's population will grow to more than ten million by 2080 - however, this growth will mainly take place among the over-65s, explained Matea Paškvan, Deputy Head of the Population Directorate at Statistics Austria, on Tuesday.

Labor shortage is worsening
Although the number of unemployed rose by 19,700 to 240,900 in 2023 compared to the previous year, the number of people in employment also increased by 40,400 to just over 4.5 million, reported Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas. Nevertheless, many jobs could not be filled. Although the number of job vacancies fell, it remained at a high level with an annual average of 206,400. "Due to demographic change, the labor shortage is likely to become even more acute in the future," says Thomas.

Lots of part-time work, older people less involved
In addition to the high part-time rate, the below-average labor market participation of over-55s compared to the rest of the EU poses a structural challenge for the labor market. While 62.3% of 55 to 64-year-olds were employed on average in the EU in 2022, this rate was only 56.4% in Austria. In Sweden, it was 77.3% - at the other end of the ranking was Luxembourg with 46.6%.

The employment rate of older people has risen significantly in recent years: In 2004, just one in four people aged 55 to 64 were still working (employment rate: 27.1 percent); by 2023, this had risen to more than one in two (57.3 percent). Overall, the employment rate for 15 to 64-year-olds was 74.1%.

Older people could step into the breach - but don't want to
Older people are often cited as a possible reservoir for overcoming the shortage of workers or skilled workers - however, only 76,500 of the currently inactive people aged between 55 and 74 would want to return to work, which is only 5.6%. Even in the 55 to 59 age group, this figure is not even one in four.

Childcare is a sticking point
Austria falls even further out of line with the EU when it comes to part-time employment: At 30.5 percent, the part-time rate is the second highest after the Netherlands (43.4 percent). This is primarily a female phenomenon: in 2023, more than one million women were working part-time, a good three times as many as men. From the age of 35, the majority of women even work part-time. One of the main reasons for this is childcare: every second child has childcare that does not allow them to work full-time.