Japan: Older Workers Retunring to Labor Force

David Pilling, writing in the Financial Times, reports that people over 60 are being drawn back to the workforce as it rises for the first time in eight years. "The willingness of those who left the jobs market to re-enter also shows the mechanisms by which the labour market might respond to the challenges of an ageing society, which is shrinking the size of the traditional workforce."

According to official figures, by last year, there were 9.67m people aged 60 or over either working or looking for work, a 450,000 increase from five years earlier. He also writes that officials from The Bank of Japan say every business sector is now suffering from labour shortages, which could push up wages and lead to further hiring of people who had drifted out of the labour market.

Source: "Japan sees first rise in workforce in 8 years" Financial Times (May 1, 2006)