The pandemic left a lasting trace on employment, with a still-visible record in overall occupancy but uneven results across regions. Among people aged 55 and older, the national unemployment rate rose by a little over half a percentage point from 2020 to 2022, reaching 12.61 percent. In Andalusia, the number of unemployed seniors remains the highest in the country at 18.34 percent (17.31 percent two years earlier). Despite declines in the Canary Islands and Extremadura, they still hold the second and third spots in this ranking with 16.45 percent (down from 19.15 percent in 2020) and 15.09 percent (down from 17.34 percent) respectively. Together with Castilla La Mancha, these four regions sit below the national average. Navarra stands out as the region with the lowest unemployment rate for those 55 and over, at a rate that dropped more than a point to 6.44 percent. The Basque Country (7.02 percent) and Aragon (7.55 percent) are other autonomous communities where older workers find more opportunities.
Unemployment among seniors varies by city, reflecting the broader regional patterns. Murcia records the lowest rate for people over 55 at 27.88 percent, followed by Palma de Mallorca at 29.23 percent and Malaga at 29.43 percent. Valencia, however, sits at the bottom among the top ten cities with 33.58 percent. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria at 33.51 percent and Madrid at 33.47 percent follow closely behind.
This is not discouraging news for the age group. Data from the 2022 Ranking of Regions for High-End Economy, compiled by the Mapfre Foundation, show a rise in employment among seniors over the past two years. The elderly employment rate climbed to 20.24 percent, an increase of nearly one percentage point, though seven autonomous communities still fall short of this figure. Andalusia remains the lowest at 18.70 percent, with Catalonia at 18.81 percent and the Balearic Islands at 18.97 percent. In contrast, Castilla y León, Asturias, and the Basque Country lead with about a quarter of the senior population employed.
A notable share of workers in this group are self-employed. The number of senior freelancers rose by 14,758. Andalusia reports the highest share of self-employed seniors with 95,090 workers, followed by Catalonia (94,105) and Madrid (66,864). On the other end of the spectrum, La Rioja (excluding Ceuta and Melilla) has the fewest seniors who work for themselves, at 5,409, with Cantabria and Navarra recording 8,424 and 8,905 respectively.
Revaluation of the average pension
The government approved a 2.5 percent increase for premium pensions and a 3 percent rise in non-contributory pensions for 2022 compared with 2021. As a result, the annual adjustment applied to the average pension produced a uniform uplift in pension benefits across all autonomous communities.
From 2022 onward, the list of regional pension averages remained stable. The Basque Country continues to have the highest average pension at €1,537.49, followed by Asturias at €1,502.42 and Madrid at €1,457.39. Navarra, Cantabria, Aragon, and Catalonia also exceed the national average. On the lower end, Extremadura reports an average of €1,044.41, with Galicia at €1,063.21 and Murcia at €1,120.75. The overall average retirement age across all regions stands at 64.60 years.