The figures for aging in Spain continue to rise. In 2022, a new maximum of aging has been registered, of 133.5%, or what is the same, there are already 133 people over the age of 64 for every 100 people under the age of 16, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics ( INE). This figure represents the highest growth since 1999.
The current figure for aging (133.5%) contrasts with that of the beginning of the millennium, when Spain was still a young country. As can be seen in the following graph that reflects the evolution of the aging rate of the population in Spain, in 1999 there was still a larger population under 16 than over 64, with an aging rate of 99%. Since the year 2000 Spain is already an aged countrywith an aging rate that exceeds 100% and that increases rapidly every year, the greatest increase having occurred, in fact, during the past financial year.
Source: Adecco Foundation based on INE data
Two factors mainly contribute to this unstoppable aging:
- a birth rate at record lows
- an upward trending life expectancy
Last year the birth rate stood at 7 births per 1000 women and the number of babies born reached the lowest figure in the entire historical series, with 338,532 children, 39% less than a decade ago. The fertility rate also recorded its minimum value (1.19 children per woman), now standing well below generational replacement levelwhich should reach 2.1 for the population to be maintained over time, without decreasing its volume.
On the contrary, the life expectancy continues to increase, currently standing at 83 yearsreaching values much higher than those registered in the 1990s (77 years in 1991).
Source: Adecco Foundation based on INE data
This demographic crisis has a great impact on another indicator: the ratio of affiliates per pensioner. Last year closed with a contributor-pensioner ratio of 2.2a figure that, although it has increased compared to 2020 (when it reached 2.14), is still far from the 2.6 rate that, according to experts, would be necessary for the current Social Security contributory deficit to disappear. .
As pointed out Francisco MesoneroCEO of the Adecco Foundation, “the current ratio does not guarantee the sustainability of the pension system and requires an urgent response to challenges such as the systematic chronification of unemployment among the most veteran professionals, investing more resources to regularize the underground economy or promoting tax and labor incentives to impact families and stimulate the birth rate. In addition, the private and capitalization plans They will have to acquire progressive importance, as is already the case in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom or Denmark”.
By autonomous communities, Asturias once again leads the aging ranking with a rate of 240% (240 over 64 years of age for every 100 under 16, a value that has grown 9 percentage points compared to last year), followed by Galicia (213%) and Castile Leon (211%). These three regions already have more than double the population over 64 years of age as under 16 years of age.
On the contrary, Ceuta (65%), Melilla (48%) and Murcia (92%) are the only regions that resist with indices still below 100%registering, still, a greater proportion of young people.
AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITYAging index year 2022Aging index year 2021Asturias, Principality of240.0231.1Galicia213.5207.3Castile and Leon211.4204.4Cantabria173.0165.5Basque Country164.1158.5Estremadura152.0147.5Aragon151.6147.8The Rioja145.2141.3Canary Islands133.9126.2Valencian Community132.7129.1Navarre128.1124.3Catalonia123.8120.1Castilla la Mancha123.6120.2Madrid’s community117.7113.5Andalusia111.8107.9Balearics108.9105.7Murcia92.690.4Ceuta65.561.7Melilla48.946.3National Total133.5129.2Source: Adecco Foundation based on INE data
Senior workers find it difficult to access the labor market
The aging of the population has a particularly visible effect on the labor market. So, 20% of people who have a job or are looking for one in Spain are 55 years of age or older, compared to 12% a decade ago. Maintaining this evolution, in 2030 they will account for close to 30% of the active population.
Despite this increasing weight of the senior workforce, a paradox arises, as the People over 55 years of age encounter double barriers to access the labor market. Currently, 562,900 professionals over this age are looking for work in Spain and 66% are long-term unemployed, a figure that drops to 47% for the rest of the population.
These barriers originate from social prejudices and stereotypes that are transferred to companies in the form of reluctance when recruiting senior professionals. For example, that their skills will be outdated, that they will be less flexible or that they will have a lower learning capacity.
“Is about highly stereotyped and anachronistic beliefs, which also eclipse the values usually present in seniors such as experience, maturity, critical thinking or temperance. Another factor is added to these beliefs, and it is the tendency to the chronification of unemployment among those over 55 years of ages: many face the job search after losing their job in their lifelong company, or accumulating long periods of inactivity, for which they are not familiar with the new job search channels or present difficulties to build their professional speech and value their skills”explains the general director of the Adecco Foundation.
In light of this reality, from the claims senior talent as the indisputable engine for the competitiveness of companies and the country as a whole. “The employment of professionals over the age of 55 is not only a matter of social justice, but a key element for the sustainability of our welfare state, particularly with regard to the pension system. The age discrimination at work It is utterly unreasonable, in the midst of a demographic winter where retirement ages are trending higher and senior professionals are set to become the dominant workforce.”says Francisco Mesonero.
In this regard, the general director of the Adecco Foundation concludes by pointing out that “the active employment policieswith a focus on the training and requalification of seniors, to relocate them, if necessary, to other sectors that are currently generating employment, as well as the commitment to #Talent Without Labels and reskilling and upskilling policies in companies are key tools to value senior talent and move towards more competitive and resilient companies and societies”.