Poles work below average in the EU during a lifetime

During a lifetime, Poles work 34.3 years, which is slightly below the EU average, according to Eurostat data. The indicator of the duration of working life is an estimation of the number of years a person, at the current age of 15 years, is expected to be in the labor force (i.e. to be employed or unemployed) throughout his or her life.

The expected duration of working life was on average 36.0 years in the EU in 2021, 38.2 years for men and 33.7 years for women. In the Netherlands, the working life expectancy rate is the highest and amounts to 42.5 years. Italians, Greeks, and Romanians are the least active. The latter has an average lifetime of 31.3 years of work - the lowest figure in the EU.

Lithuania was the only EU Member State where women usually work more than men, while Estonia, Latvia, and Finland had very small gender gaps. By contrast, the EU countries with the highest gender gaps in the duration of working life were Italy (9.1 years), Malta (8.4 years), Romania (7.6 years), Cyprus (7.5 years), and Greece (7.1 years).

(WBJ)