Filenews 7 July 2022
In 2021, the duration of working life in Cyprus was estimated at 37.9 years, above the average in the European Union (36 years), according to data released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. However, as recorded, in Cyprus the gender gap was the fifth largest in the EU, as the length of working life was estimated to be 7.5 years longer for men than for women.
The expected duration of working life for people who are 15 years old in the given year, has been gradually increasing since 2001, recording a decrease for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
In particular, this indicator increased from 32.0 years in 2001 to 35.9 in 2019, and decreased to 35.6 years in 2020. In 2021, the index returned to the levels it was at before the pandemic.
The expected length of working life varies considerably in different regions of the EU. The highest duration was recorded in 2021 in the Netherlands (42.5 years), followed by Sweden (42.3 years) and Denmark (40.3 years).
The lowest working life span was recorded in Romania (31.3 years), followed by Italy (31.6 years) and Greece (32.9 years).
Significant differentiation is also recorded in terms of the duration of the working life of men and women. Specifically, on average, the working life span for men in 2021 was estimated at 38.2 years, and for women at 33.7 years.
In Cyprus the difference is quite large, as the duration was estimated at 41.6 years for men and 34.1 years for women.
Among men, the longest working life spans were estimated in the Netherlands (44.3 years) and Sweden (43.6 years) with the shortest recorded in Bulgaria (34.6 years) and Romania (35 years).
Among women, the longest durations were recorded in Sweden (41 years) and the Netherlands (40.5 years), and the shortest in Italy (26.9 years) and Romania (27.4 years).
More generally in the EU, the gender gap in expected working life expectancy has narrowed, as it stood at 4.5 years in 2021 compared to 7 years in 20021.
The largest imbalance in 2021 was recorded in Italy (9.1 years), followed by Malta (8.4 years) and Romania (7.6 years). Cyprus follows quite closely, with 7.5 years.
The only country where the working life span for women was longer than that for men was Lithuania (1.3 years), while a small difference between the two sexes was recorded in Estonia (0.1 year), Latvia (0.8 years) and Finland (1.1 years).
CNA
