39 years in Cyprus is the expected duration of working life as of 2024. This is almost two years more than on average for the European Union - 37.2 years. The indicator varies significantly in the countries of the community. The data is published by the Eurostat.
The expected average working life is called the number of years during which a teenager is 15 years old (at the time of research) will remain in the labor market. In other words, this is the average number of years that a person will actually spend in the status of a working throughout his life. The indicator is calculated using the expected life expectancy and the share of employees and unemployed for each age.
What is this indicator talking about?
Data on the duration of working life indicates a number of characteristics of the economy in the EU countries. Firstly, the indicator indicates the level of employment and economic activity of the population. The higher it is, the earlier people begin to work, remain in their working life longer and less often fall out of the labor market due to unemployment, care for children or diseases. The low indicator, on the contrary, may indicate the late beginning of the working life, a high level of unemployment or frequent breaks in employment.
Secondly, he talks about economic sustainability: the longer people work, the greater they contribute to the country's GDP and the pension system, the lower the burden on public finance.
Thirdly, this indicator allows us to judge social policy. For example, a significant difference in the lifetime of the working life of men and women may indicate weak support for families with children, discrimination of women in the labor market or traditional gender roles. Finally, the indicator reflects the features of the pension system: a high level may be the result of increasing the retirement age or policy aimed at active aging and stimulating continuing work in old age.
The situation in the EU and the position of Cyprus
Over the past 10 years, the expected average working life in the EU has increased by 2.4 years: from 34.8 to the current 37.2 years. In the six countries of the European Union, the expected average working life was 40 years or more: in the Netherlands (43.8 years), Sweden (43 years), Denmark (42.5 years), Estonia (41.4 years), Ireland (40.4 years) and Germany (40 years). The lowest expected duration of working life was recorded in Romania (32.7 years), Italy and Croatia (32.8), Greece and Bulgaria (34.8 each). In Cyprus, the indicator was 39 years. The country was in the same group with Portugal, Austria, Lithuania and Finland.
For men, the indicator on average in the EU amounted to 39.2 years, while the greatest importance was recorded in the Netherlands (45.7 years), Denmark (44.2) and Sweden (40 years), and the smallest - in Romania (35.9), Croatia and Bulgaria (36 years each). In Cyprus - 41 years. For women, the average working life of the EU was 35 years, while the greatest duration was recorded in Estonia (42.2), Sweden (42) and the Netherlands (41.8). The shortest - in Italy (28.2), Romania (29.2) and Greece (31.1). In Cyprus - 36 years.
Cyprus indicators talk about the stable involvement of the local population in the labor market and that in general the system allows people to work long enough, starting from a relatively early age and continuing almost until the pension. The country is distinguished by a high working life, and with a certain policy (for example, improving working conditions for women or involving elderly workers), it may be included in the leading group in this parameter.
The text is prepared according to the materials of the Eurostat.
