According to Le Monde, France saw a quadrupling of the employment rate for people aged 60 to 64 between 2001 and 2025. The participation rate for this age group reached its highest level in half a century. However, France still lags behind other European neighbors in this indicator.
A report released by the French Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on July 29 shows that in 2025, the employment rate for people aged 60 to 64 reached a peak of nearly half a century, at 44.4%, which is a 2.1 percentage point increase compared to 2024.
The department noted that this change is “partially due to the retirement system reform in 2023”. This reform delayed the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 years old, while also increasing the number of years of service required for certain groups to receive full pensions.
According to reports, starting in 1975, the labor participation rate of people aged 60 to 64 dropped significantly, from 40.5% at that time to a historical low of 10.8% in 2001. This trend was driven by multiple factors: in 1982, a law was enacted that reduced the legal age for receiving pensions to 60 years old; during the economic crisis, companies implemented large-scale early retirement programs to reduce their workforce. Subsequently, this trend reversed.
According to reports, the data released on the 29th satisfied policymakers over the past 20 years. However, France’s data still lags behind that of other European countries.
According to the French Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the employment rate among people aged 60 to 64 in France ranks sixth lowest in the European Union. The percentages in some countries are about 25 to 27 percentage points higher than those in France. For example, Estonia has a rate of 71.7%, Sweden has 71.1%, and the Netherlands has 69.5%.
