Indicator 8.5.a, b Employment rate

Text from the Indicator Report 2022 

The Statistical Office of the European Union Eurostat conducts the labour force survey on an infra-annual basis. Eurostat summarises the data to form quarterly results and then consolidates them to create annual average values. It covers the population living in private households, but does not include people living in collective accommodation. The economically active population covered by the labour force survey consists of persons aged 15 and over who performed an activity for remuneration for at least one hour during the reference week or who worked as unpaid family workers. Also included are persons who temporarily did not work because they were absent, for example due to holidays or illness. It should be noted that there have been changes over time in the Labor Force Survey that affect the comparability of the time series presented over time (e.g. adjustment to results of the 2011 census, revision of the 2020 Microcensus).

The total employment rate (20 to 64-year-olds) rose by 10.9 percentage points from 68.7 % in 2000 to 79.6 % in 2021. Thus, the target value of 78.0 % for 2030 has already been achieved from 2015 on. The employment rate among older people (60 to 64-year-olds) rose by 41.5 percentage points from 19.6 % in 2000 to 61.1 % in 2021. The employment rate for men in that age group had more than doubled, rising by 38.5 percentage points to 65.7 %. The rate for women even increased almost fivefold from 12.1 % to 56.7 %. Hence, the targeted 60 % employment rate for older people was likewise reached since 2018 ahead of the deadline set in the German strategy for sustainable development.

The overall employment rates for women and men have developed in the same direction since 2000 but at different rates. The rate for 20 to 64-year-old men rose in the period under review by 6.7 percentage points to 83.2 %, whereas in the case of women it rose by 15.2 percentage points to 75.9 %, which was a far more rapid rise, albeit from a lower starting point. When assessing the increase in the employment rate for women, it should be taken into account that this growth was accompanied by an increase in part-time employment. In the year 2000, 61.5 % of employed women worked full-time, while 38.5 % worked part-time. In 2021, 52.3 % and 47.7 % of employed women worked full-time and part-time, respectively. By way of comparison, the proportion of the male workforce in full-time employment dropped from 95.7 % in 2000 to 89.8 % in 2021.

A breakdown into age groups shows diverse employment rate trends. Among 20 to 24-year-olds, the rate rose from 2000 to 2021 by 2.4 percentage points to 67.2 %. Among 25- to 59-year-olds, by contrast, the employment rate rose to 83.9 %, an increase of 7.7 percentage points. The lower employment rates of 20 to 24 year-olds is also related to the average duration of education at school and university, which postpones entry into working life.