Are Older Workers the Blind Spot of the Labor Market?
Pension reforms have a significant impact on how long older workers remain in the workforce. In 2023, employment among people aged 55 to 64 reached a record high, marking a historic trend.
According to a recent study by Dares, employment among older workers in France has seen unprecedented growth, mainly due to the effects of successive pension reforms, which have raised the retirement age and extended the required contribution periods.
In 2023, 58.4% of people aged 55 to 64 were employed, representing an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. This statistic includes older adults who are both employed and receiving a retirement pension, a practice that has become increasingly common in recent years.
At the same time, the overall labor force participation rate for this age group—which includes both those who are employed and those who are looking for work—reached 61.7 percent, confirming a nearly uninterrupted upward trend since 2000.
This trend is largely attributable to successive pension reforms, which have gradually increased the required contribution periods and raised the retirement age.
However, compared to younger generations, the employment rate among older workers remains lower, with 82.6% of those aged 25–49 employed. Furthermore, although the employment rate among older workers in France has reached its highest level since 1975, it remains 5.5 percentage points below the European average, which stands at 63.9%. France thus ranks 17th among the 27 countries of the European Union.
Since 2000, the employment rate among older workers has risen almost continuously, with an average increase of just over one percentage point per year. This trend is the result of pension reforms, particularly the increase in the retirement age and the number of contribution years required to receive a pension without a reduction. Between 2014 and 2023, the share of older adults in the workforce (including those who are both working and receiving a pension) increased by 10.2 percentage points, while the proportion of retirees decreased by 9.5 percentage points. These changes are particularly noticeable among those aged 60–64, where employment rose by 12.3 percentage points and retirement fell by 15.3 percentage points over the same period.
The unemployment rate among older adults, meanwhile, remains lower than that of the overall labor force. In 2023, it stood at 5.4 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous year, compared with 7.4 percent for workers aged 15 to 64. However, starting at age 60, the employment rate drops significantly, with only 38.9% of people aged 60 to 64 still in the workforce—a decline partly explained by gradual retirement.
A notable trend observed among seniors is working while receiving a retirement pension. Toward the end of their working lives, many workers choose to continue working while receiving a retirement pension. In 2023, this practice primarily involves seniors aged 66, with 6.3% of people in this age group working while receiving a retirement pension. However, starting at age 65, a majority of people still in the workforce also receive a retirement pension.
In 2023, although France has made progress in the inclusion of older adults in the labor market, the country still lags behind the European average, particularly among older adults aged 60 to 64, where the employment rate is 12 percentage points below the European average. Nevertheless, the employment rate for older women in France (57.2%) is approaching the European average (58.1%), a sign of progress toward gender equality in this age group.
With pension reforms still underway and an aging population, the trend toward higher employment rates among older adults appears set to continue, although challenges remain in reaching the employment levels seen in some European countries, such as Sweden, where the employment rate among older adults exceeds 78 percent.
