Employment for those over 55 grows by 2.8% in Spain, but job quality is a concern

People aged 55 to 64 were one of the groups that most boosted employment in the last year, with a 2.8% increase. However, formal employment has fallen for the third consecutive quarter and informality has risen by 4.6%.

The Spanish labour market is ageing rapidly. People aged 55 to 64 have been one of the engines of employment in the last twelve months, with a 2.8% increase in their employment rate, according to data from the INE published on June 30. But this figure, which may seem positive, hides a more complex reality: the quality of the jobs these workers find is increasingly precarious.

Employment for seniors grows, but formal jobs plummet

The INE revealed that the overall unemployment rate stood at 9.4% in the March-May 2026 quarter. However, the figure that went unnoticed was that of senior employment. People aged 55 to 64 now represent 21.3% of the working-age population, compared to 17.9% in 2019. The labour market has already changed, but public policies have not kept pace.

Meanwhile, formal employment has fallen for the third consecutive quarter, while informal employment has increased by 4.6%. This means that many of the new jobs for those over 55 are of low quality, without contracts or with precarious conditions. The Productive Longevity Observatory warns that it is unclear under what conditions these people work.

Public policies ignore workforce ageing

On the same day as the INE publication, the Ministry of Labour presented the Final Report of the Labour Reactivation Table, with 22 proposals across five axes. However, people aged 50 to 65 are barely mentioned, only as a priority group for an employment subsidy. There is no specific strategy to address the ageing of the workforce.

For readers interested in the labour market, this represents a paradigm shift: more and more workers are approaching retirement without stable employment. The lack of disaggregated data for the 50 to 65 age group hampers the design of effective policies. The INE only publishes figures for the 55 to 64 age group, leaving out the very period where the most complex transitions occur.

What does this mean for senior workers?

For a worker aged 50 or older, the market offers more jobs, but of worse quality. Informality is growing and formal employment is falling, which affects contributions and, therefore, future pensions. The Productive Longevity Observatory seeks to bring this evidence to the forefront so that public policies adapt to reality.

The next step will be to see if the Ministry of Labour incorporates these recommendations into the upcoming labour reform. So far, the data shows that the labour market has already aged, but policies have not yet done so.