'Keep older workers on the job'

The study conducted earlier this year for the American Association of Retired People (AARP) by global consultancy Towers Perrin projects that, by 2016, 39% of the population in the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations will be aged 50 or more compared with 30% in 1996.

At the same time, the percentage of the labour force that falls in the traditional working age - 15-49 years - will have fallen from 51% in 1996 to 45% in 2016, the study predicted.

"Many analysts are predicting growing labour shortages in tomorrow's workforce," the study warned.

"Some companies face the near-term risk of losing many qualified, experienced and knowledgeable workers to retirement," it said.

The grey-drain, coupled with the danger of insufficient talent to replace older workers going into retirement, could drive up labour costs as employers compete to take on skilled labour.

Employers could sidestep the looming crisis by "encouraging today's 50-plus workers to remain in the workforce longer," the study advised.

Indeed, older workers in the G7 countries want to work, on average, an additional five years beyond the traditional retirement age, according to a survey of 8 200 workers in the grouping of countries - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Japan is likely to be the hardest hit by the greying of the workforce, the study showed.

Not only is Japan's workforce declining, but 72% of Japanese workers are aged between 50 and 64.

Britain, Canada, Germany and the United States also have high percentages of workers in the older age category - more than 60% in all four countries - but, contrary to Japan, their workforces are growing.

- AFP