Labour force ageing: its impact on the level and structure of employment in Australia and Japan

Ewa Orzechowska-Fischer, Australian National University

The study focuses on one aspect of limited substatibility of different age/sex/ethic groups, as it presents a crucial issue in the policy debate on overcoming labour shortages in ageing economies. It concetrates on examining the relationship between changes in the age structure of the population aged 15 years and over and employment of particular age/sex/ethnic groups within labour force as it ages. The researched question is addressed by means of one and two factor decomposition of employment rate of two inctercensal periods. Given age/sex/ethic specific employment patterns of particular industries, ageing workforce structure becomes unfavorable to the employment in secondary and tertiary industries in both countries. Under present industrial structure and in the absence of significant productivity increases, the labour force ageing points towards labour shortages, and possible economic slow down.