AGE AND EMPLOYMENT – AUSTRALIA

More older Australians working than ever before, data reveals

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Original article by Noah Yim
The Daily Telegraph – Page: Online : 10-Jan-23

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that five per cent of the nation’s workers – some 689,900 people – were aged 65+ in November 2022. This compares with 619,800 in November 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Independent economist Chris Richardson notes that employers had to reconsider the value of older workers during the pandemic, due to the historically low unemployment rate and the lack of access to younger workers from overseas. He adds that Australia’s shift to a service economy means the physical negatives of ageing are now much less of a problem than in the past.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Plan for over-65s to ease jobs crisis

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Jun-22

Employers’ groups and the Council on the Ageing have expressed support for a proposal to address the skills crisis by allowing older Australians to work additional hours without affecting their pension payments. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar estimates that this could encourage at least 400,000 people over the age of 65 to return to the workforce. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that the proposal is among the issues that will be discussed at the national employment summit later in 2022.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COUNCIL ON THE AGEING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

50 is the new 60 when defining older worker

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 17-May-21

Seventeen per cent of business leaders now classify people aged 51-55 as ‘older’ workers, compared to just 11 per cent in 2018. This is according to a survey by the Australian Human Resources Institute and the Human Rights Commission; just under 50 per cent of those surveyed stated that they would be reluctant to hire someone over a specific age. Age Discrimination Commissioner Kay Patterson contends that businesses should be looking at the value of "multi-generational workplaces"; she notes the most important thing is the ability to do your job, rather than your chronological age.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Older workers face unemployment crisis exacerbated by JobMaker, experts warn

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Original article by Stephen Long
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 15-Oct-20

Professor Marian Baird from the University of Sydney warns that the federal government’s JobMaker hiring credit scheme will encourage employers to ‘cherrypick’ younger unemployed people when recruiting new staff. She is also concerned that some employers will seek to replace older workers with people under the age of 35 in order to receive the subsidy. Professor Baird adds that the scheme could result in greater casualisation of the workforce, given that there is no obligation for people hired via the scheme to work for the same number of hours each week.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Low rates to push older people into casual work

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 25 : 25-Sep-19

Record low interest rates are having a direct impact on the Australian labour market, by forcing older people to delay retirement and remain in full-time work for longer than they had intended. This is in turn reducing the employment opportunities for younger Australians, forcing many of them to take up casual roles or jobs in the ‘gig’ economy. Economist Callam Pickering notes that the proportion of younger workers who are underemployed has increased from about 11 per cent in 2008 to nearly 18 per cent. The trend for older people to continue working full-time is also dampening wages growth, as their priority is continuity of income rather than pay rises.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Over-55s could add $78b in GDP

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 25-Jul-16

A new study by PwC shows that Australia is ranked 16th among OECD nations in terms of retaining older employees in the workforce. The PwC Golden Age Index estimates that the nation’s GDP could be boosted by 4.7 per cent by ensuring that more older people – particularly the 55+ age group – remain in the workforce. This would equate to an annual increase in GDP of about $A78bn. Jeremy Thorpe of PwC warns that it would take about 10 years to achieve such an increase in GDP via measures aimed at lifting workforce participation among older age groups.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. CENTRELINK, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Age bias starts at 47, survey finds

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Original article by Claire Stewart
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 10-Jul-15

It is estimated that the annual economic contribution of Australian workers over the age of 45 is about $A65bn. However, the Westpac Women of Influence Report shows that business leaders believe that workplace discrimination is becoming a problem for employees at the age of 47. The survey also shows that almost 80 per cent of respondents believe that gender-based discrimination still occurs in Australian workplaces.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION COMMISSION

Work till 70? A fifth of us won’t be well enough

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 11-Jun-15

The Australian Government has advocated requiring people to remain in the workforce beyond the traditional retirement age. However, a report by AMP and the National Centre for Social & Economic Modelling concludes that this may not be an option for some Australians. It shows that 25 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women who are currently in their forties expect their health to be "fair" or "poor" by 2035.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA. NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MODELLING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT