[The aged and job perspectives. An exploration]

The expulsion of older people from the labour market is observed with some resignation by policy-makers. One of the consequences is the lack of opportunities for older people to participate in social life. This process of expulsion started as far back as the mid-sixties. Initially the Disablement Acts, and more recently the Unemployment Acts and Early Retirement measures were used to this end. After describing these processes, attention is paid to the rehabilitation activities for the older people who are entitled to payments according to the Disablement Acts. Some empirical data are presented. It is shown that hardly any activities have been undertaken that result in the rehabilitation of older disabled people. This situation has contributed to create an atmosphere in which the opinion prevails that older people are superfluous in the labour market. Taking into account the development of employment in agriculture, manufacturing and services, there are perspectives for older people to work in the service sector.