A Review of the AGE Barometer 2023: EU Good Practices and Barriers in the Empowerment of Elderly in the Labour Market - The Case of Hungary

Abstract

The 2023 edition of the AGE Barometer was released by the Age Platform Europe, aimed at consolidating data from European statistics and national-level sources and enriched by feedback from 19 European countries, including Hungary. The publication aimed at empowering older people in the labour market and promoting sustainable and high-quality working lives for them. The Barometer revealed that the European Union (EU) is far from reaching its 78% employment target for adults aged 20 to 64 with its current state of just 62.3%. This could be due to various barriers to the integration of older people in the labour market, which include inadequate supportive policies, ageism, and unfavourable workplace conditions. Conversely, these are broadly stated in the context of the EU; hence, a deeper analysis of these results, with a special focus on the case of a single country, such as Hungary, is relevant to establish a clearer understanding of the national and local framework of these findings and in determining facilitating policies and programmes as well as gaps in promoting elderly inclusion in the labour sector. Using various methods such as critical analysis, desk and literature review, and thematic analysis, this article examined the Barometer report and other relevant publications. The Barometer 2023 effectively provided general issues and actionable areas in supporting older people in the labour market, combating ageism, and ensuring an age-friendly work environment in the EU landscape. Moreover, it revealed that Hungary performed better in employing older persons compared to the EU average, likely associated with a favourable environment for older workers through its legal protection systems, financial incentives, equal treatment policy, and initiatives such as pensioner cooperatives and information technology education. However, this still falls below the target, and based on the analysis and review of existing relevant publications, this could be associated with some unfavourable policies, gender disparities, a continuous rise in the ageing population, an increased number of migrant workers, technology challenges, ageism, political mayhems, cultural and traditional constraints, and other challenges that continue to threaten the marketability of older people, thereby resulting in consequences for their financial, physical, social, psychological, and environmental wellbeing. Moreover, the report also stated few good practices in promoting elderly employment in the county, contrary to numerous efforts implemented by both the Hungarian government, non-government organisations, and other institutions, which remained unrecognised, perhaps due to limited data availability and gaps in the reporting schemes. Finally, the Barometer 2023 report was realized to be included and used as a part of the technical working papers of the European Economic and Social Committee, being the EU advisory body that deals on the issues and opinions regarding this matter. The latest edition of the Barometer has the potential to spark positive changes among policymakers and decision-makers in acknowledging the economic potential of the elderly and in eliminating barriers that hinder elderly integration in the labour market. In the case of Hungary, substantial policies, programmes, and welfare services exist that facilitate elderly employment; however, challenges were also identified, hence the precise recommendations provided in the Barometer report must transform into reality, taking into consideration the unique national, local, and cultural peculiarities of Hungary and its local communities. It is also suggested that systematic data collection and good practice documentation must be facilitated in Hungary, and feedback from the other 18 countries in the Barometer report must be thoroughly reviewed or benchmarked for possible inspiration and replication. Lastly, the potentials of the Barometer 2023 to be used at all levels of decision-making must be maximized.