Participation à la vie économique et sorties de la vie active

Participation à la vie économique et sorties de la vie active

Border Region
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Language(s)
Français
Introduction

This report highlights, using quantified analysis, but without going into the deeper causes, the various changes that Luxembourg has seen in terms of employment over the last few decades. It paints a picture that reveals the scale of the changes that occurred over the period from 1983 to 2000.

Summary

Through the figures provided, this report underscores the changes in employment seen over the last two decades and how factors such as age, gender, education, type of work pattern and nationality have played a role. It examines the economic life of persons out of the labour force aged between 50 and 64, whilst analysing in detail the withdrawal from the labour force of the over-50s over the last ten years.

Content

This report highlights the factors that influenced the employment field in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 1983 to 2000.

It is subdivided into 5 sections:

1.    Methodological considerations  

In the first section, in order to familiarise the reader with certain terms, the author provides a few definitions and briefly explains his approach, giving the data sources used in his report.

2.    Overall employment rates

In this second section, the report addresses the question of the employment rate in relation to factors such as workers' age, nationality and gender.
 
3.    Employment rate, education, labour force withdrawal and women's participation in economic life

In this third section, the report addresses the question of the employment rate in correlation with all the factors from the previous section, but adding in education and part-time working.

4.    Situation of persons out of the labour force between the ages of 50 and 64

Section 4 deals with persons out of the labour force between the ages of 50 and 64 and the reasons behind their lack of economic activity: illness, early retirement, disability or others.

5.     Labour force withdrawal between the ages of 50 and 64 during the 1990s

Section of the article focuses on persons out of the labour force aged between 50 and 64 and who are not looking for a new job, based on LFS data from 1997 to 2000.

Conclusions

A reading of the figures provided by the different LFSs from 1983 to 2000 allows different findings to be made regarding participation in economic life and labour force withdrawals in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

  • Generally speaking, the employment rate was on a downward trend over the period studied. Even though there was a small increase in women at national level particularly, other factors such as the extension of schooling and earlier retirement ages limited growth.
  • Between the ages of 50 and 54, a certain stability was observed in men with a rate still above 80%, whereas the rate for women rose from about 20% to somewhere around 45%.
  • In the 55 to 59 age groups, the average rate was between 50 and 55% inclusive for men and around 20% for women with a strong move towards alignment of the foreign and national male rates.
  • From age 60 onwards, participation in economic life falls to a very low rate. Currently the average rate is somewhere around 15% in men and just over 10% for women.
  • The employment rate for 25 to 54 year olds has risen just over 35% to almost 60% in native women and about 40% to over 60% in foreign women.
  • The main reasons for no longer being in the labour force can be divided into three categories: Illness and disability; Retirement (early or otherwise); Other (including family responsibilities).
  • Depending on the worker's gender, type of work, age, etc., different scenarios are found. While men mainly withdraw from the labour force due to illness and disability, women do so more often for other reasons such as family responsibilities.
Key Messages

Through the different figures used in this report, the author reveals the complexity of the factors that come into play when one looks at participation in economic life and labour force withdrawal in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. These phenomena vary according to age group, type of work, worker gender, etc.  They are also conditioned by factors governed by legislation such as the extension of the school leaving age and the reduction of the retirement age. It is therefore important to take an interest in, gather and analyse a variety of data to get a sound grasp of the issue.

Lead

Jean Langers

Author of the entry
Perrine
Dethier
Contact Person(s)
Date of creation
2019