Spain adds one million workers over 55 in five years

Spain ages, but the elderly begin to work more. That is the main conclusion drawn by the fifth edition ‘Map of Senior Talent, prepared by Fundación MAPFRE and the Ageingnomics Research Center’, presented this Friday in Madrid in a day that brought together representatives of the central government, autonomies and city councils. The report, directed by researchers Rafael Puyol, Alfonso Jiménez and Iñaki Ortega, analyzes the transformation of the Spanish labor market: in just five years, the active population over 55 years of age has increased by more than a million people and it already represents 20.5% of the entire workforcecompared to 17% in 2019. These are figures that, according to the authors, “are making adequate progress, but need to improve.”

The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saizexplained during the presentation of the event: “Taking advantage of everyone’s talent is essential to continue leading the growth of the OECD.” Saiz claimed generational diversity as an economic value, recalling that intergenerationality improves “both innovation and productivity“. He also stressed the urgency of combating ageism in companies and in society: “We are a team and we all fit in,” he stated.

A general reading of the report shows that Spain not only ages, but it does so by working. Senior activity rates have grown in all cohorts—from 55 to 59 years old, from 60 to 64 and even from 65 to 69—and, for the first time, they exceed 50%: from 46.7% in 2019 they have risen to 52.45% in 2024. Furthermore, this increase has occurred more intensely among women, who reduce the gap with men, although there continue to be fewer active women than men despite being the majority of the population.

Senior self-employed grow

Compared to young people, the map draws a panorama that shows population aging. In 2024, Spain has 867,000 seniors active more than younga gap that has multiplied by four since 2019, when it was 189,700. Another significant fact is the increase in employment: the number of workers senior has grown from 3.48 million to 4.52 millionconfirming the extension of working life.

The report attributes part of the boom to the effect of the incentive measures approved in recent years. Delayed retirements have gone from 4.8% in 2019 to 11.1% in 2024more than double, an evolution that Minister Saiz celebrated as a sign that the population is beginning to positively value working beyond the legal age.

Also The number of self-employed people has grown significantly senior, that already exceed one million: 1,029 million compared to 882,000 five years ago. They are practically five times more than the self-employed youths and represent 31% of the total group. However, the report clarifies that a large majority—678,000—are self-employed without workers in charge, which limits its impact on entrepreneurship and the creation of larger-scale companies with workers.

The president of Fundación MAPFRE, Antonio Huertascontextualized the data in the Spanish demographic framework. He recalled that Spain is experiencing “negative vegetative growth” and a birth rate “of barely 1.2 children per family”, which forces us to look at the future of work from a different framework. “Half of the newly created jobs are being occupied by immigrants. We need an orderly migration, through the appropriate channels,” defended Huertas, who insisted that talent senior will be fundamental in the transition towards “a new society.”

However, the report not only reflects progress; also points out important deficits compared to Europe. Although Spain is reducing the activity gap—in 2023 it reached a rate of 51.6%, above France (45.3%) and Italy (46.9%)—it is still very far from the leading countries in labor integration seniorsuch as Sweden (66.6%) or Germany (61.2%).

Even more worrying is the unemployment situation: Spain has unemployment senior highest in its surroundings, with 513,900 unemployed in 2024, compared to 471,700 in 2019. The rate rises from 14.7% to 18.7%despite the strong increase in activity. The authors warn that this is one of the main challenges of the next decade, since many older workers have more difficulties re-employing themselves after a job loss.

Coordination between all social agents

The presentation of the report was accompanied by an institutional dialogue table in which representatives from all levels of the administration participated. They intervened Luis Carlos Cuetoadvisor to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge; Michael Torresvice president of the Basque Government; Carlos Velázquez, mayor of Toledo and Cristina Ayalamayor of Burgos. All of them explained the measures that their administrations are adopting to combat ageism, promote professional retraining and encourage the participation of the elderly in the labor market.

Looking to the future, the ‘Senior Talent Map’ projects that the trend will continue until 2029. In the next five years, they estimate that the Spanish population in this age range will grow by 1.18 million people, to 10.78 million, while the assets will increase by an additional 1.39 million. However, the authors warn that current public policies will not be enough to close the labor gap with Europe, and call for a coordinated and transversal strategy that makes it possible to take full advantage of the experience of a society that ages at cruising speed.