21,000 young people left the labor market in 2023, "replaced" by 27,000 retirees

2024-03-13 07:29:00, Sociale CNA

21,000 young people left the labor market in 2023, "replaced" by

The employment indicators improved during 2023, but the structure according to the age group of the employed shows that there is a strong contraction of young people and an increase in employment among people of retirement age over 64 - INSTAT reports.

During the October-December period of 2023, according to data from the Labor Force Survey, over 253,500 people aged 15-29 were employed, or 21,000 less than in the same period of 2022. Detailed data from INSTAT show that employment in this category fell by -7.7%. With the exception of the July-September period, when tourism is at its peak, in the third three quarters the number of employees in the 15-29 age group decreased.

The decline in employment among young people was accompanied by an unusual increase in the employment of pensioners (age group over 64). According to INSTAT, employment in this group had an annual expansion of almost 50% in the last quarter of 2023. Almost 82 thousand people over 64 years old were at work in October-December 2023 from 54.5 thousand who were in the same period of the year 2022. The data show that more than 27 thousand pensioners were employed more than in the last 3 months of 2022.

There is a tendency in recent years that when the employment of young people falls, there are more employed among retirees. The employment of young people is facing difficulties in recent years, reflecting a return of unemployment, even though the labor market has shown strong demand, especially after the pandemic.

At a time when the country's population is shrinking due to the decline in births and the high emigration of young people, the spaces for employment of young people should be increased, but this is not happening.

INSTAT reported that, compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, the youth unemployment rate has increased by 0.6 percentage points. Compared to the third quarter of 2023, this indicator decreased by 0.02 percentage points. The unemployment rate for the 30-64 age group is 7.9%. In annual terms, this indicator has increased by 0.3 percentage points and compared to the previous quarter there is an increase by 0.4 percentage points.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the youth employment rate was 43.1%. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, the youth employment rate has decreased by 1.5 percentage points and compared to the third quarter of 2023, it has decreased by 1.7 percentage points. As for the population aged 30-64, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the employment rate is 77.5%.

Young people aged 15-29 who declared that they are pupils/students or in training make up 72.6% of economically inactive young people. Among economically inactive young people aged 15-29, 1.4% are classified as discouraged unemployed. In the population aged 30-64, this group constitutes 15.8% of the economically inactive population of this age group./ Monitor Magazine