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Education level, working life expectancy and expected working years lost: a study using Swedish registry data
Melody Almroth1, Daniel Falkstedt2, Kuan-Yu Pan2
1Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden melody.almroth@ki.se.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
|August 3, 2026
Summary
Individuals with lower educational attainment experience significantly shorter working lives and more time in unemployment and disability. These educational disparities in labor market participation highlight inequalities with potential long-term financial and health consequences.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Public Health
- Economics
Background:
- Labor market participation varies significantly based on educational attainment.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for addressing socioeconomic inequalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate educational differences in working life expectancy.
- To analyze disparities in time lost to unemployment, sickness absence, and disability pension by education level.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a Swedish cohort of 100,000 individuals (born 1945-1975).
- Applied multistate expected labor market affiliation to estimate working life expectancy and time in various labor market states (2006-2020).
- Categorized education into levels from ≤9 years to ≥15 years.
Main Results:
- Lower educational attainment was associated with substantially shorter remaining working lives.
- At age 30, the gap in remaining working life was 5.6 years for men and 8.9 years for women between highest and lowest education groups.
- A clear gradient showed lower education linked to more time in unemployment and disability pension.
Conclusions:
- Significant inequalities in labor market participation exist based on education.
- Shorter working lives for less educated individuals have immediate and long-term consequences, including reduced income and potential health issues.
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