Invest in Workforce or Suffer the Consequences

A recent OECD report says that governments must do more to improve the job opportunities for women, older workers, people with disabilities and the low-skilled, says the OECD's latest Employment Outlook. Without more and better jobs for such groups who are under-represented in the workforce, the prospects for economic growth in many countries will be undermined as the population ages, the study warns. A higher proportion of the adult population in work would ease the burden on public finances and would improve social exclusion, it says.

The OECD estimates that unless action is taken to encourage more people into employment and remove existing barriers to job creation, the annual growth of the workforce in its 30 member countries will slow from an average 1.3% over the past 30 years to 0.3% over the next 30. In some countries such as Italy and Japan, the labour force will decline.

Similarly, on current trends, the ratio of the over 65-year-olds to the total workforce will rise from 27% in 2000 to 47% in 2030, straining current pension schemes and threatening living standards.

Are you listening economic developers? This is one to pay attention to.

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