The Spanish labor market is changing and the protagonists of this transformation are not exactly newcomers. The professionals over 50 years old who work as freelance They are showing that age is not a brake, but rather an added value.
The report Seniors Trends 2025prepared by the platform malt along with the project SAP of the Endesa Foundation and Máshumano Foundation, puts figures and testimonies to an expanding phenomenon: work maturity has become synonymous with innovation and resilience.
According to the study, one in three freelancers senior in Spain he works in the technology and data sector (33.6%). They surpass classic areas such as communication and marketing (27.3%) or the business consulting (22.3%). Furthermore, almost a quarter of the projects carried out in Malt by this group in the last year focused on technology.
The secret of this protagonism is in the continuous training. 95% of seniors dedicate at least one hour a week to updating their knowledge, and three out of four invest between two and six hours a week in learning. It is not strange, then, that 63.9% already use artificial intelligence tools on a daily basis.
“What is really important is not what AI does, but what it activates in us: the need to develop new human competencies. Today, more than ever, what cannot be automated gains value such as charisma, empathy, intuition, creativity or the ability to inspire,” says Raquel Roca, freelancer expert in Cultural and Organizational Transformation.
Experience as a competitive advantage
The portrait of freelancer senior is very far from prejudices. Most have More than 15 years of previous experience as an employee and almost half have been there for more than a decade working independently.
This double vision – having been within the company and then as a freelancer – allows them better understand the needs of clients and contribute solutions fast, realistic and adapted to each project.
However, the ageism is still present. In 2024, 41.9% of the unemployed in Spain were over 45 years oldaccording to data from SEPE. Faced with this, the freelancing It appears as a way to include and take advantage of senior talent.
“Today there are clear opportunities for senior professionals: a active longevitya market with a shortage of young talentthe need for experience in an increasingly volatile environment and platforms like Malt, which make it easier to work with flexibility, autonomy and without age being a limit,” explains Tomás Pereda, Deputy General Director of Fundación Máshumano.
A vital choice, not a necessity
Another common myth is that those over 50 become freelancers out of obligation. The report dismantles that idea: flexibility (31.65%) and the independence (26.05%) are the main reasons.
Furthermore, they do not see it as something temporary. He 61% want to continue being freelance even after retirement. For many, it is a lifestyle that gives them freedom to organize their times and projects.
“He freelancing senior has become the most powerful weapon to address the challenge of employment of those over 50 years of age in Spain,” says Jacobo Bermúdez de Castro, general director of Malt Spain. “Companies are finding the talent they need to respond with agility and guarantees to the challenges of the fast and changing world in which we live. On the other hand, senior freelancers have found the formula to continue transmitting all the value of your knowledge and skills with the flexibility and autonomy that they value so much.
