Number of workers over 50 doubles in the country

In 15 years, the number of workers over 50 doubled in the country. In 2006, there were 4.4 million people and, in 2021, they increased to 9.3 million – an increase of 110.6%. The survey was carried out by the National Service for Industrial Learning (Senai), linked to the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), based on data from the Annual Social Information Report (RAIS), which provides data on the labor market for statistics.

According to the survey, in the analyzed period, the general employment stock grew by 38.6%, which shows the pace of growth in the presence of workers aged 50 or over was almost three times higher compared to general employment.

Workers aged 50 occupied 12.6% of vacancies in 2006. The percentage rose to 19.1% in 2021. “The participation of this group in the stock of formal employment grew 51.6% in this decade and a half”, reveals the search.

For Senai, the results point to a trend and the importance of developing policies, on the part of governments, companies and educational institutions, focused on the requalification of these professionals with the objective of remaining in the labor market or outplacement.

Women

In a decade and a half, the participation of women over 50 in the labor market has grown more than that of men in the same age group. Among them, the increase was 120% between 2006 and 2021. However, women account for less than half of workers (42.4%) over 50.

Sectors

Among the sectors of the economy with the highest hiring of people aged 50 or over, there are commerce (164%), services (136%) and industry (96%).

Industry alone (transformation, mineral extraction, public utility services and civil construction) recorded 1.5 million employees in the age group in 2020.

states and region

In the analysis by regions, half of the workers are in the Southeast. However, the North and Midwest regions were the ones with the highest proportional increases in hiring, with 129% and 132% respectively, surpassing the national average of 110.5%. “All states in the Northeast and Southeast had a hiring rate of 50+ below the average, with the exception of Maranhão, which increased by 139.4%, and São Paulo, with 118.6%”, points out the survey.