Statistics: Minor changes to the labour years ratio
The 2026 labour years ratio is 0.60. Compared to the previous year, the labour years ratio increased by 0.6 per cent and compared to 2005, by 5.7 per cent.
According to recent statistics by the Finnish Centre for Pensions, the labour years ratio is 0.63 for men and 0.58 for women.
“The ratio basically means that today’s 18-year-old men spend 63 per cent of their remaining life working. For women, the corresponding ratio is 58 per cent”, says Statistics Researcher Jukka Tapio of the Finnish Centre for Pension.
The labour years ratio for women has risen significantly more than for men. Compared to 2005, it has increased by 8.8 per cent for women and 2.5 per cent for men.
“The long-term rise in the labour years ratio is due to, among other things, the higher increase in the average effective retirement age compared to life expectancy”, Tapio explains.
The labour years ratio has increased more among women than among men. This is because the employment rate has risen more in female-dominated sectors, such as health and social services, than in male-dominated sectors. At the same time, women’s labour force participation has increased.
Monitoring the labour years ratio dates back to the 2017 pension reform
The labour years ratio is the ratio between the five-year average expected duration of active working life of an 18-year-old and the five-year average life expectancy of an 18-year-old.
The labour years ratio is used to evaluate the development of working lives. Working life monitoring was decided in connection with the 2017 pension reform and is the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in Finland. The aim is to retain the labour years ratio at the level of year 2025 at the minimum.
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