Singapore faces a grim labour future as population ages rapidly

(Sept 6): While Japan had the biggest slump in its workforce in Asia over the last 10 years, Singapore has the most to fear from an aging population over the next two decades.

The city state will face a double whammy: a shrinking workforce and slower progress than Asian neighbours in getting more people into the labour market. According to a new study from Oxford Economics, Singapore’s labour supply – after accounting for changes to the participation rate – will shrink by 1.7 percentage points in the 10 years through 2026 and by 2.5 percentage points in the decade after that. That’s the worst of a dozen economies in a report by Louis Kuijs, the Hong Kong-based head of Asia economics at Oxford.

Almost all Asian nations will face demographic challenges over the next two decades, and efforts to boost labour participation rates – for example, by drawing more women into the workforce and raising the retirement age – will only marginally limit the negative impact.

---

Related Stories

• China unveils plan for massive 'silver economy'
• Fed signal for rate pause takes pressure off hot jobs report
• The great demographic shake-up

---