INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ARE SENIOR CITIZENS WANTED ON THE LABOUR MARKET?

Transcription

1 Conference on active ageing in Denmark SFI, Copenhagen, 21 October 2015 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ARE SENIOR CITIZENS WANTED ON THE LABOUR MARKET? Anne Sonnet Senior Economist Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD

2 THE OECD REVIEW ON AGEING AND EMPLOYMENT POLICIES LIVE LONGER, WORK LONGER (2006) WORKING BETTER WITH AGE (2016)

3 Outline of the presentation 1. The labour market situation of older workers in OECD countries 2. Key policy action 3

4 1. THE LABOUR MARKET SITUATION OF OLDER WORKERS IN OECD COUNTRIES

5 Opportunities to work at an older age vary considerably across OECD countries Employment rates for people aged 55-59, and 65-69, OECD countries, 2014 As a percentage of the age group OECD OECD OECD Source: OECD estimates based on national labour force surveys. 5

6 The cross-country difference in employment rates of older workers is driven more by job retention than by job mobility Retention and hiring rates by age group, selected countries, 2014 a Retention rate Percentages Hiring rate a) The retention rate is the ratio of all employees currently aged with job tenure of five years or more to all employees aged five years previously. The hiring rate is the ratio of all employees aged with job tenure of less than one year to the total number of employees. Source: OECD estimates based on national labour force surveys. 6

7 There is still a perception of age discrimination in the labour market Age discrimination in the workplace, European countries, 2011 Percentages Personally discriminated Have witnessed discrimination Source: Eurobarometer

8 The older unemployed face a higher risk of long-term unemployment than those aged Incidence of long-term unemployment a by age groups, OECD countries, 2014 Aged As a percentage of unemployed by age PRT IRL SVK BEL SVN ITA ESP DEU HUN NLD FRA LUX EST EU21 AUT OECD CZE FIN GBR DNK POL TUR JPN USA NZL AUS NOR ISR SWE CAN ISL 10 0 MEX Aged

9 There are significant differences across countries in quality of life at work for older workers: Finland leads the way On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your quality of life at work? % scores 8-10, and over National average Source: EDENRED-IPSOS Barometer: employees including employees aged 55 and over surveyed in January 2015 in 14 countries. Data are not available for Turkey. 9

10 Older workers reporting supervisors are concerned about their well-being ranges from 39% in France to 67% in the UK Would you say that your line manager genuinely cares about employee well-being? % strongly agree and agree 55 and over National average Source: EDENRED-IPSOS Barometer: employees including employees aged 55 and over surveyed in January 2015 in 14 countries. Data are not available for Turkey. 10

11 The seniority element in wages is more pronounced in some countries Age-wage profile a in selected countries, 2012 Hourly wage at = 100 DNK OECD FRA DEU a) The figures show the relationship between age and hourly wages, controlling for gender, immigration status of parents, industry, occupation, permanence of the contract, part-time work, years of job tenure, years of education and two different measures of skills. Source: OECD estimates based on PIAAC data. 11

12 Participation in job-related training by older workers is lower than for workers aged Job-related training a by age group, selected countries b, 2012 As a percentage of the employed in each age group a) Job-related training refers to participation during the past twelve months. b) OECD refers to the unweighted average of the 22 OECD countries having participated in PIAAC. UK refers to England and Northern Ireland; Belgium refers to Flanders. Source: OECD estimates, based on PIAAC data. 12

13 The literacy skills of older people are low relative to the younger generation, except in the UK Progress in literacy skills across two generations, 2012 Score on the reading scale Average Average Only England and Northern Ireland for the UK and only Flanders for Belgium. Source: OECD Adult Skills Survey (PIAAC).

14 The computer skills of older people are low relative to the younger generation, except in the Nordic countries Progress in the use of computers across two generations, 2012 Prior computer experience and passed the ICT core test (% of persons) Average Average Only England and Northern Ireland for the UK and only Flanders for Belgium. Source: OECD Adult Skills Survey (PIAAC).

15 2. KEY POLICY ACTION

16 OECD s policy agenda to promote longer working lives 1. Rewarding work and later retirement Pension reform Flexibility in work-retirement decisions No publicly-funded early retirement schemes No welfare benefits towards early retirement 2. Encouraging employers to retain and hire older workers Address age discrimination, mandatory retirement, mechanisms linking pay and working conditions to age or length of service Take a balanced approach to employment protection Good practice in managing an age-diverse workforce GOVERNMENT EMPLOYERS UNIONS CIVIL SOCIETY 3. Sustaining employability throughout working lives Enhance participation in training by workers Provide effective employment assistance to jobseekers Improve working conditions through a broad-based strategy to improve job quality for workers at all ages 16

17 Heavy policy focus on the first area relative to the second and third areas 1. Strengthen incentives for workers to build up longer careers and to continue working at an older age 2. Encourage employers to retain and hire older workers 3. Promote the employability of workers throughout their working lives with a view to strengthen employment opportunities at an older age 17

18 The top priority in the countries reviewed so far has been to Strengthen financial incentives to carry on working Policy action in the second (employers barriers) and third (employability) areas has been much less frequent and sometimes only at the margin Source: Sonnet, Olsen and Manfredi (2014), Towards More Inclusive Ageing and Employment Policies: The Lessons from France, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland, De Economist, Vol. 162, Issue 4.

19 Encourage employers to retain and hire older workers Progress and what still needs to be done Address age discrimination in employment -- banned by law in many countries (except in Switzerland). Even if many countries have launched a number of ad hoc initiatives, more could be done to change negative attitudes of employers to hire older workers. The Netherlands has launched very concrete measures towards age discrimination, such as the screening of vacancy announcements. In France, the PES (Pôle emploi) has developed the simulation recruitment method enabling new hires to be selected through aptitude tests without regard to age or previously held jobs. Seek to discourage or further restrict mandatory retirement, still in place informally and in some collective labour agreements. More could be done to reach all sectors. In Denmark, the mandatory retirement age of 70 for civil servants was abolished in 2008 but mandatory retirement ages are still in place in the private sector. 19

20 Encourage employers to retain and hire older workers Progress and what still needs to be done (cont.) Encourage the social partners to identify mechanisms to facilitate the retention and hiring of all older workers, including reviewing their practices in setting pay to reflect productivity and experience, not age. More could be done. The social partners have not reviewed extensively pay practices based on age or length of service. Public authorities could give an example by introducing performance pay and limiting automatic rises in salary with tenure for public-sector employees. Take a balanced approach to employment protection. Countries tend to adopt age-neutral measures on employment protection. More could be done, for instance, in Poland where workers with less than four years until retirement are protected from layoffs. Provide employers with guidance on good practice in managing an age-diverse workforce. More could be done. The Centre for Senior Policy in Norway aims to raise awareness on older workers among all parties. 20

21 Promote the employability of workers throughout their working lives Progress and what still needs to be done Enhance participation in training by ensuring that it is adjusted to reflect the experience and learning needs of older workers. More could be done to make training more attractive to low-skilled workers and encourage enterprises to keep training them until retirement. In the Netherlands and Switzerland, the use of the instrument to validate skills acquired on the job is increasing. In Poland, a National Training Fund was established in 2014 with a short-term priority to reach workers over the age of 45. Provide effective employment assistance to jobseekers, irrespective of their age, but targeted at those groups most at risk of long-term joblessness. In Switzerland, high activation of older unemployed by the PES to help them back to work based on early intervention, intensified coaching and individual targeting. In Denmark, the Senior Network is an innovative practice receiving financing from the public budget to promote participation in teams to find jobs. 21

22 Promote the employability of workers throughout their working lives Progress and what still needs to be done (cont.) Improve working conditions through a broad-based strategy to improve job quality for workers of all ages. Countries aim to reduce the effects of poor working conditions in a preventative way but more could be done to reach more firms: In Norway, anticipating and reducing sickness-related absenteeism more effectively is one of the three goals of the Inclusive Workplace Agreement introduced in 2001 and by 2012 covering 60% of workers. The networking initiative developed in the Netherlands among volunteer pioneer firms aims to promote sustainable employability and better health for their workers. In France, as a headline measure of the 2013 pension reform, the personal account for preventing strenuous work exposure came partly into force in January 2015 for private-sector workers. In Denmark, prevention self-help kits, including a specific senior starter kit, offer subsidies to enterprises to improve health and safety conditions. 22

23 Conclusion: More should be done! Many OECD countries have carried out a series of (pension) reforms to encourage longer working lives. Promoting the employability of workers throughout their working lives remains crucial. Governments, workers, the social partners and NGOs have to face these challenges together. A more comprehensive set of reforms is necessary to improve current practices in firms to upskill, retain and hire older workers in a technology-rich work environment. More should be done to ensure that senior citizens are wanted on the labour market. 23

24 Thank you! For further information: Anne Sonnet the review Working Better with Age