Older workers in the Baltic states over the pandemic year: SHARE Corona Survey results

The study is based on the dataset collected within the framework of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE), namely in two subsequent SHARE Corona Surveys via computer-assisted telephone interviews: in June-August 2020 and in June-August 2021. The survey is targeted specifically at collecting data on the living situation of people who are 50 years and older during the pandemic across Europe. The objective of the research is to analyse the change observed in the respondents between 2020 and 2021, how the continuing Covid-19 crisis influenced their work and employment, their retirement ecisions, and what kind of financial support and from what sources they received due to the pandemic. The situation in Latvia is examined against the background of the other Baltic States as well as other European countries. Despite the effects of the Covid-19, the levels of employment among the 50+ population remain high and do not demonstrate a trend to decline. A considerable share of the study population in Latvia received some kind of additional financial support from the government helping to mitigate the financial cost of the crisis. As concerns the changes in working time among those who remained in employment, for the absolute majority of the Baltic participants there were no changes compared to the situation one year before, as well as to the place of work. Recent developments in the labour legislation in Latvia related to the creating of the legal framework for remote work.