Duration of professional life

If you have ever wondered how many years of life, on average, a European citizen spends in the labor market, the answer in 2025 was 37.5 years. That is, if you start at 20 years old, you could remain professionally active until almost 58 years old, statistically speaking.

In Romania, the average duration is almost 5 years shorter than the EU average. And, what is more worrying,  it is that the figure has remained almost identical to that of ten years ago, while the rest of Europe has grown significantly.

Today we put under scrutiny an indicator that places us in the last position in the European Union, namely professional lifetime duration. In this episode of The MacRO Zone, we try to see why and, especially, what this means for the economy, for pensions, and for the generations to come.

It is important to clarify, from the very beginning, that the indicator does not show the actual number of years worked by an employee nor the period during which a person contributes uninterruptedly to the pension system. It is practically a statistical estimate based on life expectancy and labor market participation rates for each age group. Also, it does not represent the legal retirement age nor a recommendation on how long a person should work. It describes the current behavior of the population in the labor market.

In other words, it is an X-ray of labor market participation, not one index of productivity or work quality. A reduced duration may mean: late entry of young people into the labor market, low employment rates, early retirement, low female participation, the existence of a large number of inactive persons, or a lower life expectancy.

• In 2025, the estimated duration of professional life in the European Union was 37.5 years. Comparativ cu 2015, când indicatorul era de 34,9 ani, durata a crescut cu 2,6 ani.
  • Growth is supported both by improved employment and by the higher participation of women and people over 55 years old in the labor market. At the same time, increased life expectancy and the gradual change of retirement conditions extend the period of economic activity.
    
    
• While the average length of professional life in the EU has increased by 2.6 years over the last decade, in Romania it has decreased by 0.1 years. Thus, at the end of 2025, in our country, on average, the duration of professional activity stood at 32.7 years, ranking last in the European Union.
  • Following comparatively the evolution of the average duration of professional life, we see a clear and constant trend in the last decade
    • 2015: 34.9 years (EU) vs 32.8 years (Romania)
    • 2019: 35.9 years (EU) vs 33.8 years (Romania)
    • 2021: 35.9 years (EU) vs 31.1 years (Romania)
    • 2023: 37 years (EU) vs 32.4 years (Romania)
    • 2025: 37.5 years (EU) vs 32.7 years (Romania)

RANKING AND DYNAMICS

Looking at the first and last places, we observe:

• The longest years on the labor market: The Netherlands (44 years), Sweden (43.4 years), and Denmark (42.6 years)
  • These results are associated with high employment rates, significant participation of women, extensive use of flexible programs, and the retention of older people in the labor market.
  • The long duration does not automatically mean that employees work more hours each week. The Netherlands, for example, have a significant share of part-time work. The indicator shows that people remain connected to the labor market for a longer period, even if the individual schedule can be reduced or flexible.
    
    
• The fewest years on the labor market: Romania (32.7 years), Italy (33 years) and Bulgaria (34.6 years)
  • These are the only member states with an estimated duration less than 35 from years in 2025.
  • While, historically, Italy recorded an increase from 30.7 years (2015) to 33 years (2025), and Bulgaria advanced from 32.1 to 34.6 years, in Romania, however, the 2025 value is almost identical to that of ten years ago.
  • The difference between states cannot be explained only by the retirement age. It reflects especially the capacity of savings to integrate into work young people, women, people from rural areas, workers with a low level of education and people close to retirement.
    
    

WOMEN VS MEN: THE BIGGEST GAP IN THE EU

In 2025, the estimated duration of professional life for men and women had the following structure:

• 2025 (Men): 39.5 years (EU) vs 36 years (Romania)
• 2025 (Women): 35.5 years (EU) vs 29.1 years (Romania)
• 2025 (Diferenț a): 4.1 years (EU) vs 6.9 years (Romania)
  
  

The difference between women and men thus reaches in Romania to 6.9 years, much above the European average difference of 4.1 years.

Low participation of women therefore represents one of the main explanations for Romania's position. In 2025, the difference between the employment rates of men and women in Romania was 18.7 percentage points, one of the largest in the European Union.

This situation is not only a social problem, but also an economic one. At the global level, reducing participation gaps between women and men is estimated to generate major economic gains. World Bank indicates a potential growth of the global GDP by over 20%, and McKinsey estimates an impact of up to 12 trillion USD in the scenario of an acceleration of economic equality.

In this context, the large gap between active women and men in the labor market in Romania represents not only a vulnerability of the labor market, but also a substantial untapped economic opportunity. An increase in women's participation at levels close to those of men could simultaneously contribute to expanding the labor force base, increasing household incomes, and accelerating long-term economic growth potential.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ROMANIA'S POSITION

WHAT'S NEXT FOR CURRENT GENERATIONS?

The problem becomes more important in the context of population aging. In the period 2005–2025, the median age of the Romanian population increased by 8.6 years, the highest increase in the European Union. As the large generations approach retirement, the number of active persons risks decreasing faster than the number of recipients of pensions and medical services.

In this context, a shorter professional life is no longer just a statistic, but turns into direct and immediate consequences:

• The taxpayer base narrows . Fewer active people means fewer contributions to pension system. The ratio of 8 pensioners to 10 employees becomes even more strained if many of those 10 potential employees are inactive or work outside the formal system.
  
  
• The personnel shortage is deepening. Companies in Romania are already facing major difficulties in recruitment. A labor market with low participation exacerbates this problem.
  
  
• Tax revenues are decreasing. Fewer formal employees means less income tax and fewer social contributions, that is, less money for the budget for health, education, and infrastructure.
  
  
• Salaries and production costs rise under pressure. When the demand for work exceeds the supply, wages rise, which can be good for employees, but puts pressure on the competitiveness of companies.
  

For workers over 45–50 years old, they become essential skills update, adaptation of working conditions and access to flexible programs. The extension of professional life cannot be achieved exclusively through creremoval of the retirement age. It is necessary for people to remain healthy, productive, and capable of adapting to technological changes.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS?

For young people who are entering now or will enter the labor market in the coming years, the professional career will probably be longer but less linear. Periods of employment will alternate more frequently with professional retraining, training, independent activity, or changing the field.

Increasing life expectancy and population aging will exert pressures to keep people active until older ages. At the same time, automation and artificial intelligence will change the structure of occupations, which will require repeated updating of skills.

Future generations will not necessarily have only one profession over the course of 40 years, but rather several distinct professional stages. Education will no longer be able to focus only at the beginning of life, but will have to continue throughout the career.

In the absence of an increase in labor force participation, young people might bear higher contributions or might benefit from relatively lower public pensions.

ONE LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

At the European level, the duration of professional life is expected to gradually increase, against the background of the aging population, pension system reforms, and higher participation of women and elderly people in the labor market. However, the pace will depend on the health status of the population, the quality of jobs, and access to training.

For Romania, approaching 34–35 years of professional life requires reducing inactivity, increasing employment among women and young people, limiting informal work, and investing in skills development. In the absence of these measures, the gap with the European average risks remaining.

A STRUCTURAL CHANGE

In the end, it is important to keep in mind that Romania is not in last place in the EU regarding the length of professional life due to a lack of hardworking people. The data show that too many people enter the labor market late, exit early, or remain outside it for long periods. The greatest growth potential is therefore not found in extending the working hours of those already employed, but in including more people in economic activity.

In an economy simultaneously affected by migration, demographic aging and staff shortage, increasing the length of professional life becomes a condition for supporting the pension system and economic potential. The objective should not only be for people to work more years, but for them to have longer, healthier, more flexible, and more productive careers.