Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

Figure 7: Employment rates of older German males (in %), 1970-2006
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2006
50-54-year-old men 55-59-year-old men 60-64-year-old men 65-year-old men and older
Source: OECD, data from European Labour Force Survey. Data prior to 1992 refer to Western Germany only.
The employment rate of older males has dropped significantly in the period under
question. The effect was most pronounced in the age range 60-64 years – a drop from 70 to
26 per cent between 1970 and 1995. The employment rates of older German men have been
largely contingent on both structural and institutional developments. With regard to the
employment rates of men aged 55-64, an upward development can be noticed since the
middle of the nineties. This can be attributed to the impact of the early retirement
disincentives which started taking effect since 1997.
The employment rates of older German women have decreased between 1970 and 1985
only in the two highest age groups (Fig. 8). This development is a reflection of the rising
female labour force participation rates which set off in the mid-eighties (Hinrichs 2002: 260;
Brussig et al. 2006: 48) and is therefore a clear cohort effect.
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