Demographic challenges and labor market

published on 10/18/11 12:34 PM

Photo: EPA/BGNES

Besides the economic crisis, Europe is about to face a serious demographic one. The share of aging population is growing, the one of children and young people is going down, although the numbers are different for each separate country. This places some questions before the goals for a high economic growth that Europe has set in its 2020 strategy. Those are: a quick reducing of unemployment and 75 percent of employment. The demographic challenges that also determine the processes on the labor market are main subjects of discussion over 2012 that the EC pronounced to be a year of active aging and solidarity between generations. That was also a topic of a conference in Sofia, organized by the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria. The economic and financial crisis wiped out the progress achieved so far, Mrs. Zinaida Zlatanova, head of the representation of the EC in this country pointed out. In the peak of the crisis nearly 23 mln. people or 10 percent of the EU population are unemployed. 5.5 mln. jobs were closed by the crisis.

“At the same time the low birth rate will lead to a reduction of labor force with some 12 percent in the 2012 – 2030 period. In the meanwhile the share of people aged over 65 will go up from almost 13 percent at the moment to nearly 18 percent in 2060. Thus the burden on the systems of healthcare and social security in the EU will be increased. Hence the burden on working people that will have to support those systems will grow too.”

According to Social Minister Totyu Mladenov:

“The social reality that Bulgaria and most of the member-states face suggests a new, more active role of the aged people for the achieving of the social and economic goals set. We must turn challenges into new opportunities that are useful for the society as a whole.”

The demographic situation in Bulgaria is heavier than the one in the rest member-states. Its characteristics: low birth rate, high overall death rate, low life expectancy. 30 percent of the Bulgarian population will be retired in 2050, experts claim. The labor market suffers lack of employees. That is why the European goal for active aging of the people and the longer participation of old people on the labor market is pretty topical in Bulgaria. The rejuvenation of the working force requires measures for increasing of birth rate, for improvement of family support and services for families with children. The aging of the population will push the increasing of the retirement age in this country over the next years. However, this has to be considered with the average life expectancy in Bulgaria and the health of the working force, Chair of Committee on Social Policy at the Parliament Dragomir Stoinev says. Employers should also take their responsibility for the hiring of older employees. Bulgaria is among the few European countries that adopted a long-term demographic strategy yet in 2006. It accentuates not only on the increasing of birth rate, but also on the better quality of human capital, regarding its health, education, capabilities and skills.

According to Mrs. Emilia Voinova from the ministry of labor and social policy:

“Employment in Europe is encouraged via more jobs created, longer years of service with better quality, including the implementation of special measures for improvement of mobility. Younger and older people and women should also participate more actively on the market. Studying should also continue all over our life, systems for flexibility and security of jobs should be created too,” the expert explains.

It also essential the flow of highly educated Bulgarians out of this country to be stopped. One of the ways is a change of the income policy.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev

По публикацията работи: Milka Dimitrova

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Demographic challenges and labor market

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