The demographic shifts post WW2 resulted in a large increase in population. This generation, known as the "baby boomers", has had a considerable impact on the labour market. As a result today's labour market is consisted of many older workers. An estimated 21% of the labour market is made up of employees over the age of 60 and is expected to continue increasing (Malatest 2003). This "ageing workforce" has a number of implications from a Human Resource Management perspective. This review discusses the cause of the ageing workforce, the impacts it has on organisations and society and finally solutions and strategies which can be implemented to reduce the effects of this issue.
1.0 The cause of the ageing workforce.
1.1 The History.
There have been many demographic shifts effecting populations since the 1940's which have impacted largely on the labour market. The "baby boom" population which occurred between 1946 and 1964 has created significant changes affecting the construction of schools, the birth of new communities and the creation of new jobs and industries (Mosner 2004). As the boomers developed as a generation, educational facilities expanded and enrolments soared, creating a highly educated workforce, this increased the consumer population and accounted for much of the economic growth of the '80s and '90s (Malatest 2003). On top of this boomer effect is the increase in life expectancy. Since 1900, the average life expectancy has increased from 47 years to 77 years. .
1.2 Future expectations.
By the year 2050, the proportion of people aged 60 years and older is expected to double. This age group is expected to account for 21% of the total global population. At the same time, birth rates are falling, in the year 2000, children represented 30% of the world's population, but by 2050, they are expected to account for only 20%. This trend is particularly evident in developed countries. They seem to have a significantly older population and have birth rates lower than the level needed to replace generations (Malatest 2003).
