EU population ageing reshapes workforce, care needs, commission says

The EU's ageing population is reshaping its labor market and placing greater pressure on healthcare and long-term care systems, the European Commission said Tuesday, warning that demographic change will require targeted policies to sustain economic growth and public finances.

In its third Demography Report, the Commission said the EU's population is expected to decline from 450.6 million today to around 445 million by 2050 and 398.8 million by 2100, while people are living longer than ever before.

By 2050, nearly one in three EU residents will be aged 65 or older, compared with one in five today, the report said.

The Commission said the shrinking working-age population would require greater labor market participation and productivity to offset labor shortages.

Around 20% of the working-age population is currently outside the labor market, while the gender employment gap stands at 10 percentage points and around 8 million young people are neither in education, employment nor training, according to the report.

The Commission said boosting women's participation in the workforce, helping young people acquire skills, enabling older people to remain in work if they choose, and increasing productivity through innovation and artificial intelligence would be key to addressing these challenges.

It also said skilled migration would continue to play an important role in addressing labor shortages, while stressing that priority should remain on upskilling and reskilling people already living in the EU.

The report said the aging population would also increase demand for healthcare and long-term care, with the number of people requiring support projected to rise from 36 million to 48 million by 2070, while the share of people aged 80 and over is expected to double.

The Commission said it is supporting member states through initiatives covering housing, skills, healthcare, poverty reduction and regional development aimed at helping turn demographic change into an opportunity rather than a challenge.