This represents nearly one-third (31 percent) of all individuals available to the labor market last year, according to data released Wednesday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis)
Younger age groups are not projected to replace the numbers within the ‘baby boomer’ generation While those aged 60 to 64 were already in the transition to retirement, they still comprised 44 million employed individuals in 2024, representing an employment rate of 68 percent within that age group A significantly higher proportion (85 percent) of younger baby boomers, aged 55 to 59, remained active in the labor market, totaling 56 million across all age groups and making them the largest single group of employed individuals
Combined, these two age groups accounted for 100 million employed individuals – more than the combined total of those aged 54 and under While both the 45- to 54-year-olds and the 35- to 44-year-olds exhibited the highest employment rates at 90 percent and 89 percent respectively, the number of employed individuals in these groups – 93 million and 98 million – did not quite match that of the baby boomer generation The 25- to 34-year-olds, with 90 million employed individuals, also fell short of the baby boomer numbers, as did the two youngest age groups under 25, many of whom were still in education or training and thus not fully available to the labor market
To mitigate the anticipated future labor shortages, discussions are underway regarding retaining or reactivating individuals from the peak birth years more comprehensively The employment rate among older individuals has increased over the past ten years: while 65 percent of 55- to 64-year-olds were employed in 2014, this rose to 75 percent in 2024 – a 10 percentage point increase
This increase in the employment rate of 55- to 64-year-olds is considerably stronger than in younger age groups Among 15- to 24-year-olds, the rate increased by 5 percentage points to 51 percent over the same period The smallest increase was observed among 25- to 54-year-olds, rising from 83 percent in 2014 to 85 percent in 2024
Despite the increasing employment of older individuals, many continue to retire prematurely The reasons for this are varied and range from health limitations and insurance regulations, including long-term contributions and early retirement schemes offered by companies, to a simple desire for more leisure time
While 82 percent of those aged 58 were still employed last year (compared to 74 percent in 2014), the rate for 60-year-olds was already at 79 percent (69 percent in 2014) Employment declines more noticeably from age 62: 70 percent (56 percent in 2014) were employed at that age, falling to 46 percent (33 percent in 2014) at age 64 The vast majority of employed individuals had left the workforce by ages 66 and 68, with corresponding employment rates of 22 percent (15 percent in 2014) and 16 percent (11 percent in 2014)
