Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Retention and Reintegration of Older Workers into the Labour Market : What Works Best?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Erwerbsverlauf und sozialer Schutz in Europa

Abstract

The labour market situation of older workers has significantly improved over time, yet opportunities to work at older age still vary considerably across EU countries. This chapter traces diverging developments in retaining employment and bringing older unemployed back to work in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway, and Austria. It provides evidence that pension reforms and the abolition of pathways to early retirement have contributed more to extending working lives than anything else. However, re-integration after a job loss and the risk of persisting unemployment remain specific problems of the elderly. Public programs to support the re-integration of unemployed senior workers show rather mixed results.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    To adjust the absolute numbers according to demographic effects we calculate employment ratios (instead of employment rates) by relating employment to the population of the same age group to assess whether the labour market participation of older workers has really increased.

  2. 2.

    Starting from a comparatively high level in Norway (63.7 years) the effective retirement age increased only by 0.4 years over the period of 1995–2014. In France, the increase was by 0.9 years, but starting from a low level (58.9 years). In Austria (58.9) it increased by 1.3 years, in Germany (60.3) by 2.4 years and in the Netherlands (58.7) by 3.2 years (http://www.oecd.org/els/public-pensions/ageingandemploymentpolicies-statisticsonaverageeffectiveageofretirement.htm).

  3. 3.

    Employees currently aged 60–64 with job tenure of five years or more as a percentage of all employees aged 55–59 previously; data for Austria and the Netherlands from 2007; no data available for Norway from 2005.

  4. 4.

    The Hartz IV reform (2005) might also have influenced these developments. Older workers who entered UI under the pre-reform regime till end of 2004 might rationally have expected to claim generous, wage-indexed benefits until entering retirement, effectively becoming labour market participants in name only. The lower lump sum benefits for older long-term unemployed after the reform makes such an option less attractive. Additionally, the “pension at 63” introduced in July 2014 for those who have paid into the retirement system for 45 years might also contribute to lower not only employment but also unemployment among the elderly.

  5. 5.

    From the age of 57.5 onwards, unemployment benefit recipients in the Netherlands were not required to actively search for a job – they could stay unemployed until they turned 65, from which age they would receive retirement benefits. Similar regulations have been in place also in other countries, e.g. in Norway or Germany. But no impact studies on their abolition has been carried out.

References

  • Arni P (2011) Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit verhindern: Intensivberatung für ältere Stellensuchende (Intervening against Long-term Unemployment: Labor Market Policy for Older Job-Seekers). http://works.bepress.com/patrick_arni/2/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2017

  • BA – Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (2016) Berichte: Blickpunkt Arbeitsmarkt: Situation von Älteren, Dezember 2016, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/Statischer-content/Arbeitsmarktberichte/Personengruppen/generische-Publikationen/Aeltere-amArbeitsmarkt.pdf. Accessed 27 Dec. 2017

  • Behaghel L, Caroli E, Rogers M (2014) Age biased technical and organisational change, training and employment prospects of older workers. Economica 81(322):368–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beste J, Trappmann M (2016) Erwerbsbedingte Abgänge aus der Grundsicherung: Der Abbau von Hemmnissen macht’s möglich. IAB-Kurzbericht, 21/2016, Nürnberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellmann L, Leber U (2008) Weiterbildungsbeteiligung Älterer in KMU in Deutschland. In: Sesselmeier W, Lange J, Bizer K (eds) Weiter Bildung! Berufliche Weiterbildung Älterer in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen, (Loccumer Protokolle, 61/07), Loccum, pp 57–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg P, Hamman M, Matthew M, Piszczek M, Ruhm C (2016) Relationship between Establishment Training and the Retention of Older Workers: Evidence from Germany. NBER Working Paper No. 21746

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonoli G, Hinrichs K (2012) Statistical Discrimination and Employers’ Recruitment. Eur Soc 14(3):338–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boockmann B (2015) The Effects of Wage Subsidies for Older Workers. IZA World of Labor. http://wol.iza.org/articles/effects-of-wage-subsidies-for-older-workers-1.pdf

  • Boockmann B, Zwick T, Ammermüller A, Maier M (2012) Do Hiring Subsidies Reduce Unemployment among Older Workers? Evidence from Natural Experiments. J Eur Econ Assoc 10(4):735–764. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-4774.2012.01070.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brussig M, Bellmann L (2008) Betriebliche Einflussfaktoren auf Rekrutierungen Älterer und deren Bewerbungen. Zeitschrift für Personalforschung 22(1):35–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brussig M, Knuth M, Mümken S (2016) Von der Frühverrentung bis zur Rente mit 67. Der Wandel des Altersübergangs von 1990 bis 2012. Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld

    Google Scholar 

  • Card D, Kluve J, Weber A (2015) What works? A Meta Analysis of Recent Active Labor Market Program Evaluations. IZA Discussion Paper, No. 9236, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn

    Google Scholar 

  • Czepek J, Moczall A (2017) Neueinstellung Älterer: Betriebe machen meist gute Erfahrungen (Hiring older workers: Firms report about positive experiences) (IAB-Kurzbericht, 08/2017), Nürnberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Dauth C, Toomet O (2016) On Government-Subsidized Training Programs for Older Workers. Labour 30(4):371–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engels B, Geyer J, Haan P (2016) Pension Incentives and Early Retirement. DIW Discussion Paper 1617, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Eppel R, Mahringer H, Weber A, Zulehner C (2011) Evaluierung der Eingliederungsbeihilfe. Studie im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Arbeit, Soziales und Konsumentenschutz, Vienna, https://www.sozialministerium.at/cms/site/attachments/2/4/6/CH3434/CMS1459843718607/14_eingliederungsbeihilfe_endbericht_mai2011.pdf. Accessed 27 Dec. 2017

  • Gerfin M, Lechner M (1999) Ökonometrische Evaluation der arbeitsmarktlichen Massnahmen in der Schweiz. Arbeitsmarktpolitik No 7, Evaluationsprogramm Arbeitsmarktpolitik des Staatssekretariats für Wirtschaft (seco)

    Google Scholar 

  • Graaf-Zijl M, Van Der Horst A, Van Vuuren D, Luginbuhl R (2015) Long-Term Unemployment and the Great Recession in the Netherlands: Economic Mechanisms and Policy Implications. De Economist 163(4):415–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanel B, Riphahn R (2012) The Timing of Retirement - New Evidence from Swiss Female Workers. Labor Econ 19(5):718–728

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huttunen K, Pirttilä J, Uusitalo R (2013) The Employment Effects of Low-Wage Subsidies. J Public Econ 97:49–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inderbitzin L, Staubli S, Zweimüller J (2016) Extended Unemployment Benefits and Early Retirement: Program Complementarity and Program Substitution. Am Econ J-Econ Polic 8:253–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knuth M, Stegmann T, Zink L (2014) Die Wirkungen des Bundesprogramms „Perspektive 50plus“. Chancen für ältere Langzeitarbeitslose. IAQ-Report 01/14, Duisburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Lammers M, Bloemen H, Hochguertel S (2013) Job search requirements for older unemployed: Transitions to employment, early retirement and disability benefits. European Economic Review, 58(C):31–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manoli DS, Weber A (2016) The effects of the early retirement age on retirement decisions. NBER Working Paper No. 22561, August 2016

    Google Scholar 

  • Midtsundstad T, Hermansen A, Nielsen R (2012) Effects of companies’ initiatives to reduce early retirement among older workers. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies 2(3):89–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2013a) Employment Outlook 2013, Chapter 1: All in it Together?, The Experience of Different Labour Market Groups Following the Crisis. Paris. http://www.oecd.org/els/emp/Employment-Outlook-2013-chap1.pdf. Accessed 27 Dec. 2017

  • OECD (2013b) Aging and Employment policies: Norway. Working Better with Age. OECD Publishing. Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2016) Scoreboard on older workers. http://www.oecd.org/els/emp/older-workers-scoreboard.xlsx. Accessed 27 Dec. 2017

  • Sonnet A, Olsen H, Manfredi T (2014) Towards More Inclusive Ageing and Employment Policies: The Lessons from France, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. De Economist 162:315–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staubli S (2011) The Impact of Stricter Criteria for Disability Insurance on Labor Force Participation. J Public Econ 95(9–10):1223–1235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staubli S, Zweimüller J (2013) Does Raising the Early Retirement Age Increase Employment of Older Workers? J Public Econ 108:17–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Sonsbeek J-M, Gradus R (2013) Estimating the Effects of Recent Disability Reforms in the Netherlands. Oxford Econ Pap 65(4):832–885

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zwick T (2011), Why Training Older Employees is Less Effective. Int J Manpow 36(2):136–150

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Regensburger Str. 104, 90478, Nürnberg, Deutschland

    Regina Konle-Seidl

Authors
  1. Regina Konle-Seidl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Regina Konle-Seidl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Sozialrecht und Sozialpolitik, München, Germany

    Eva Maria Hohnerlein

  2. Institut de l’Ouest: Droit et Europe (UMR CNRS 6262), Université de Rennes 1 , Rennes, France

    Sylvie Hennion

  3. Puyrolland, France

    Otto Kaufmann

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland, ein Teil von Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Konle-Seidl, R. (2018). Retention and Reintegration of Older Workers into the Labour Market : What Works Best?. In: Hohnerlein, E., Hennion, S., Kaufmann, O. (eds) Erwerbsverlauf und sozialer Schutz in Europa. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56033-4_35

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56033-4_35

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-56032-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-56033-4

  • eBook Packages: Social Science and Law (German Language)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation