Living longer – Working better: Background paper

Of all the future challenges facing labour markets in Europe, none is more certain than the demographic imbalances resulting from the lower birth cohorts after the post-war ‘baby boom’ and the continual increase in life expectancy. Indeed, this has already led to a significant shift in the age structure in practically all European countries. This paper was produced as a discussion paper for the European Commission’s thematic review seminar on ‘Employment policies to promote active ageing’, which took place in Brussels on 11 June 2012.