People in Ireland are more likely to keep working into old age than any other country in the European Union, new figures show.
The average age for a person retiring from the labour force in Ireland is 64, compared with 58.5 in Slovenia and 58.8 in France and Malta.
Overall, Ireland has one of the highest employment rates for older people in the EU, with more than 50 per cent of older people in the workplace. This means Ireland has now exceeded targets set by the EU in recent years to increase the proportion of older people in the labour force.
The figures are contained in a review of working conditions across the EU between 2006 and 2007, compiled by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Statistics also show that while Ireland has the second highest minimum wage in Europe (Luxembourg has the highest), it drops four places when the wage is expressed in terms of purchasing power.
Ireland's minimum wage with its purchasing power factored in is worth an estimated €1,050 a month. This compares well with Spain (€722) and Portugal (€510). However, it is outstripped by France (€1,126), Belgium (€1,184), the UK (€1,202), the Netherlands (€1,210) and Luxembourg (€1,417). The report also notes that the minimum wage in the US is worth the equivalent of €799 a month.
Ireland continues to have one of the lowest unemployment rates (4.4 per cent) in the EU. The average rate was 8.8 per cent, with the lowest rates recorded in Denmark (3.8 per cent) and the Netherlands (3.9 per cent).
The highest rates were in Poland (14 per cent), Slovakia (13 per cent) and Greece (9.8 per cent).
The foundation, an EU body based in Dublin, also noted with concern that the unemployment rate of women was generally well above the rate of men in most EU countries, with the exception of Ireland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and the UK.
Ireland also fared relatively well in unemployment rates for young people. While the highest figures for people aged 15-24 were in Poland (37 per cent) and Slovakia (30 per cent), the lowest were in the Netherlands (8 per cent), followed by Denmark and Ireland (9 per cent).