Number of older workers increase
More than half a million workers around the country are 63 years or older, and they make up the fastest-growing sector of the working population, according to new data. The MyCareer Employment Forecast predicts the number will rise to 750,000 by the year 2020.
More than half a million workers around the country are 63 years or older, and they make up the fastest-growing sector of the working population, according to new data.
The MyCareer Employment Forecast, released recently, predicts the number will rise to 750,000 by the year 2020 as older Australians remain in, or re-enter the workforce.
“There’s an appreciation that these workers often have decades of skills, and they tend to be fairly loyal as well,” the report’s author, Michael Emerson, told AAP. “So they are quite an attractive proposition,” he added.
Mr Emerson said while there remained some resistance by employers to taking on older workers, the data showed that resistance was declining.
“This really started as a result of skills shortages and low unemployment,” he said.
Mr Emerson said employers were starting to realise employing older workers was a good way to maintain their workforces.
The 63-plus segment, which MyCareer labelled twilighters, had doubled in size over the past 15 years, according to MyCareer.
And Mr Emerson says that group is only going to get bigger.
“The population is getting older all the time, and people’s expectations of their lifestyle are lifting,” he said.
With superannuation savings low for many older people, working is the only option to obtain that lifestyle, Mr Emerson claimed.
The Australian government supports employment of mature-aged workers, in April announcing a $1,000 Jobs Bonus scheme for employers who recruit and retain a mature-age job seeker.
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