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People in their fifties and young sixties are more active on the labor market and find work more quickly than five years ago. But they are still twice as likely to be long-term unemployed as younger job seekers, according to De Tijd on Saturday.
The impending job losses at bus builder Van Hool threaten to affect older employees in particular. More than a third of the workforce in the Flemish branch is at least 50 years old. Despite the labor shortage in the region, unions fear for the employment opportunities of that group.
However, these opportunities are moving in the right direction, according to an analysis by De Tijd based on figures from the statistical service Statbel and the employment agency VDAB. The activity rate among Flemish people over 55 is increasing. At the end of last year, more than 63 percent of people between the ages of 55 and 64 were working or available for work. That is more than a quarter more than at the beginning of 2017, when only half of them were active on the labor market.
The share of very long-term unemployed people in the group of job-seeking people over 55 has also decreased: at the beginning of 2017 they accounted for two-thirds, now only about 40 percent. Very long-term unemployed people are without a job for more than two years.
Other figures show how big the difference with young people remains. In 2023, 3.2 percent of job seekers over the age of 55 in Flanders went to work every month. Younger job seekers are two to four times more likely to move on to a job.
2024-03-16 05:53:22
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