During the pandemic, the percentage of workers over 65 years of age in the industrialized countries declined markedly.. The need to reduce the labor force due to the drop in economic activity and the fear of contagion caused many active retirees or those who had postponed their decision to do so to opt for retirement.

Based on historical experience, few economists expected those who opted to retire to return to the field. But this year, notes The Economistthe trend has reversed. The British magazine ventures that today there is a greater participation of people over 65 years of age in the labor market in developed countries than before the pandemic. Statistics in Europe indicate that as early as the end of 2020, the number of people between 55 and 74 years of age began to grow, moving from inactivity to employment.

There are good and bad reasons behind this trend. On the one hand, inflation is eroding the purchasing power of many retirees, especially those who receive a fixed amount, forcing them to generate income. But we are also (for now) in a tight labor market, where many companies are forced to fill vacancies with those who come knocking at the door without too much discrimination, with attractive remunerations even if only in part-time jobs.