The EU’s 2020 average is 0.2 years less than the average for 2019, according to data by Eurostat.

It is the first time since 2000 the expected average duration of working life has declined; it also decreased in Cyprus from 37.4 years in 2019.

The number of years that people can expect to be in the labour force (employed or unemployed) during their life has also been impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

People who would have been available to work and would have sought employment may have given up their search due to low return expectations and, consequently, outside the labour force, reducing the expected duration of working life.

Regarding the gender gap, it diminished slowly but steadily at the EU level between 2000 to 2020, from 7.1 years in 2000 to 4.8 years in 2020, while the expected working life for women increased by 4.5 years, it rose by just 2.2 years over the same period.

Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark had the longest expected duration of working life in 2020 (42.0, 41.0 and 40.0 years, respectively).

These were the only three EU Member States where the expected duration of working life was 40 years or above.

They were followed by Estonia (39.2 years), Germany (39.1 years) and Finland (38.8 years).

Cyprus had the 11th highest working life duration at 37.1 years.

In contrast, the shortest expected duration of working life was recorded in Italy (31.2 years), followed by Greece and Croatia (both 32.8 years), Belgium (33.4 years) and Bulgaria (33.5 years).

Source: Financial Mirror