Labour
branch Employment rates for age group 55-64
Persons in employment as a percentage of population in that age group
  2008
Iceland 83.3   83.30 
New Zealand 71.9   71.90 
Sweden 70.3   70.30 
Norway 69.3   69.30 
Switzerland 68.4   68.40 
Japan 66.3   66.30 
Estonia 62.4   62.40 
United States 62.1   62.10 
Korea 60.6   60.60 
Israel 58.4   58.40 
United Kingdom 58.2   58.20 
Denmark 57.7   57.70 
Canada 57.5   57.50 
Australia 57.4   57.40 
Chile 56.6   56.60 
Finland 56.4   56.40 
Brazil 55.1   55.10 
Mexico 54.7   54.70 
OECD total 54.0   54.00 
Ireland 53.9   53.90 
Germany 53.8   53.80 
Portugal 50.8   50.80 
Netherlands 50.7   50.70 
Russian Federation 50.7   50.70 
Czech Republic 47.6   47.60 
Spain 45.6   45.60 
Greece 42.9   42.90 
Austria 41.0   41.00 
Slovak Republic 39.3   39.30 
Luxembourg 38.3   38.30 
France 38.2   38.20 
Italy 34.4   34.40 
Belgium 32.8   32.80 
Slovenia 32.8   32.80 
Poland 31.6   31.60 
Hungary 31.4   31.40 
Turkey 27.4   27.40 

Definition

The employment rate for a given age group is measured as the number of employed people of a given age as a ratio of the total number of people in that same age group.

Employment is generally measured through household labour force surveys. In accordance with the ILO Guidelines, employed persons are those aged 15 or over who report that they have worked in gainful employment for at least one hour in the previous week. Those not in employment consist of persons who are classified as either unemployed or inactive, in the sense that they are not included in the labour force for reasons of study, incapacity or the need to look after young children or elderly relatives.

Employment rates are shown for three age groups: persons aged 15 to 24 are those just entering the labour market following education; persons aged 25 to 54 are those in their prime working lives; persons aged 55 to 64 are those who are approaching retirement.

For more statistics on economic, environmental and social issues visit online the OECD Factbook 2010.