unemployed

Labor market and demographics are two closely linked factors in which changes in one affect the other. Demographic aging is not only affecting the generational changebut is also generating an unprecedented change: for the first time in historical series, unemployment among those over 55 years of age exceeds that of the population between 25 and 54 years of age. Furthermore, the main difference is that reintegration into labor market for those over 55 years of age It does not occur in the same terms as in the younger segment of the population. This reversal of the historical pattern comes at the height of demographic aging, just when people are asking to work longer to support the pension system. A historic “sorpasso” in the senior unemployment. Historically, people aged 55 years or older registered less unemployment than the rest of younger workers, to the point that in 1994 their unemployment rate for this segment of the population was 9.2 points (11.7%) below that of the group of 25 to 54 years old (20.9%). This favorable gap has been progressively reduced until it disappears in 2023, at which point the differential became negative for senior workers. As stated in the study prepared by the BBVA and IVIE Foundation, in 2025, the “sorpasso” no longer leaves room for doubt and the average unemployment rate for those over 55 years of age reaches 9.8%, compared to the 9.4% unemployment rate registered for people between 25 and 54 years of age. This change occurs in a context of general improvement in employment in Spainwhich indicates a very notable relative worsening of the position of seniors within the labor market. That is, more is hired, but People over 55 years of age are not hired.. More time unemployed. As the BBVA Foundation report reveals, the problem is not only how many people over 55 years of age are unemployed, but also their duration of unemployment. it has been lengthening to the same extent that the gap with those under 55 years of age was reduced. “Their labor insertion is complicated, with longer periods of unemployment, fewer job opportunities and lower quality jobs,” the report points out. The data indicates that 57.9% of unemployed people aged 55 or over are long-term unemployed, having been unemployed for more than a year. looking for a job without finding it. This percentage contrasts with 36.1% among unemployed people aged 25 to 54 and 17.8% among young people aged 16 to 24. When they return they do so with worse conditions.. When these employees manage to re-engage in the labor market, they do so in much more fragile conditions than those they had. Among employees aged 55 or over with less than a year of seniority, that is, they have just joined a company, 52.6% have a temporary contract, 10% are in precarious employment with contracts of up to three months and 4.5% are permanently discontinued. On the other hand, among those employees over 55 years of age who have been in the same company for more than 25 years, temporary employment falls to 2%, there is hardly any precarious employment and discontinuous permanent employment is reduced to 2.4%. They return, but to worse jobs. According to the authors of the report, the differences are also noticeable in the type of occupations they enter after the period of unemployment. Among senior workers with more than 25 years of seniority who maintain their jobs, management, management or highly qualified occupations represent 45.6% of the total, while basic jobs only represent 7%. However, among older people who have just gotten a new job, only 15.6% occupy highly qualified positions and 29.4% end up in elementary occupations. This pattern is even worse than that of younger workers in the same situation: among those aged 25 to 54 who have just started a job, high-skilled occupations reach 29.1%, while basic occupations account for 20%. For the 16 to 24 year old group, these percentages are 27% and 15.5%, respectively. More dissatisfaction. Changing to a job with worse conditions also leads to an increase in job satisfaction for this segment of the active population, which, according to encrypts the studyrecords that 21.5% of newly employed seniors want to change their schedule and 16.4% continue looking for another job despite having found one, compared to 0.8% of their peers who have kept their job. In terms of salaries, the data paint a similar reality. The study by the BBVA and IVIE Foundation shows that the average annual salary of those over 55 years of age is 30,038 euros, above the 26,855 euros of the group between 25 and 54 years of age. But when the focus is placed on newly hired people over 55 years of age, their salary drops to 19,558 euros, slightly below the 19,837 euros earned by those aged 25 to 54 in the same situation and far from the 40,520 euros of senior workers who have not had their careers interrupted. In Xataka | 47% of the unemployed in Spain are over 50 years old. The problem is that many will not return to work until they retire. Image | Unsplash (guven karakoc)