While the average rate of employment among women aged 55–64 in the European Union was 48.9% in 2016, only around 42% of women in this age group were still working in Hungary, the data show.

The situation was noticeably better among Hungarian men in the same age group, where the 60% rate of employment of men aged 55–64 in 2016 was only slightly below the EU-28 average of 62%.

By comparison, in Sweden some 73% of women and 78% of men aged 55–64 were employed in 2016.

At the lower end of the scale, according to vg.hu, less than 30% of women in this age group were employed in Malta and Greece, and only 44% of men in Slovenia.

In the case of part-time workers, women led the way among those aged 55–64 in the EU, with an average employment rate of 35.7%, compared to just 10.6% of men working part-time in this age group.

In Hungary, some 12% of women, and just 4% of men, worked part-time in the 55–64 age group in 2016.

At opposite ends of the scale in the 55–64 age group, 81% of women and 25% of men in the Netherlands worked part-time, while in Bulgaria the respective figures were just 2% and 1%.

In connection with employment, vg.hu draws attention to the simultaneous phenomenon of rising life expectancy, noting that 12.6% of the Hungarian population were aged over 70 in 2017, compared to 10.9% in 2005, 8.1% in 1990, and just 4.2% in 1941.

Source: BBJ

Republished with permission