According to a new OECD report, Ageing and Employment Policies, participation in the labor force from the ages 25 to 49 and 50 to 64 is nowhere higher than in Iceland reports Fréttabladid.
The labor participation of people aged between 50 – 64 in Iceland is 85% while 88% of the people in the 25-49 age group have a job.
On average in OECD countries, fewer than 60% of people aged between 50 and 64 have a job, compared with 75% of people in the 25-49 age group.
This means that labor participation in Iceland in the 50 and 64 age bracket is 25% above average.
The OECD report promotes the fact that in an era of population ageing, countries can no longer afford to waste the valuable resources that older workers offer to business, the economy and society.
According to the report many public policies and workplace practices discourage older people from carrying on working. The report says “that such policies and practices are relics of a bygone age and unsustainable at a time when population aging is straining public finances and holding back higher living standards. If there is no change in work patterns, the ratio of older inactive persons per worker will almost double in the OECD area over the next decades, from around 38% in 2000 to just over 70% in 2050.”
According to the report if the ratio of older inactive persons increases it would lead to higher taxes and/or lower benefits, coupled with slower economic growth.
The report findings are being discussed at a Home High-Level Policy Forum: Ageing and Employment Policies in Brussels from October 17 – 18.
