Job retention among older workers in central and Eastern Europe

Wojciech Hardy,Aneta Kiełczewska,Piotr Lewandowski,Iga Magda

doi:10.1080/1406099x.2018.1514562

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe study job retention rates – the shares of workers who continue to work in the same job over the next five years – in Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Job retention among older workers is key to prolonging careers and increasing employment of older people which in turn is a crucial challenge for these countries. We find that the retention rates among workers aged 55–59 are low and amount to about a half of the retention rates among prime aged workers. Only in Poland the retention rates of older workers have increased for both men and women between 1998 and 2013. The individuals least likely to retain jobs after the age of 60 were women, those with lower education, working in industry, in medium or low-skilled occupations, and those living with a non-working partner. The policies aimed at encouraging job retention in Central and Eastern Europe should focus on these groups of workers.

Highlights

Population ageing is a challenge for many countries around the world, including countries in Europe
We study employment of older workers in the CEE4 using a measure of job retention rates, as proposed by the OECD (2015a) and described in the methodology section below
We analysed some of the factors associated with job retention among workers approaching retirement age in four Central Eastern European countries

Summary

Introduction

Population ageing is a challenge for many countries around the world, including countries in Europe. The share of people aged 60 or older in the global population is expected to rise from 12% in 2015 to 22% in 2050, and from 24% to 34% in Europe (United Nations, 2015). Population ageing will accelerate in Central and Eastern European countries (Lutz, Sanderson, & Scherbov, 2008), where the employment rates among older workers are lower than in Western European countries. While promoting employment of people aged 55 and older has been identified as a key policy response (see reviews in Foster & Walker, 2013, 2015), achieving this goal in practice is a challenge, as finding a new job can be especially difficult for older people.

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Conclusion