Possible Reasons for a Change in the Size of a Country’s Labour Force
Q1 Explain the possible reasons for a change in the size of a country’s labour force
The labour force of a country is defined as the total number of workers who are available to work. Therefore it refers to all males and females, normally 15-16 years and over, who can contributed to the production of goods and services. As well as those actually in employment, it also includes those who are unemployed as these people are available for work.
A change in the labour force would normally be a slow process over time and could come about because of:
• a change in the labour force participation rate as a result of a change in the number of young people of working age remaining in education; alternatively, more could decide to seek work rather than stay in education.
Not only has the balance of the labour force changed between the sexes, it has also changed by age as table 5 shows. Since 1971, there has been a significant increase of 16-24 year old workers peaked in 1989 at 5.6 million and has since the mid 1990’s. Part of the reason for these changes has been demographic. The number of births increased the end of second world war to the mid 1906s.They then fell to 1978, rose again to 1990, fell to 2002 and are now rising again. These rises and falls create bulges of workers in the age distribution of the labour force. People born from the end of the second world war in 1945 to the mild- 1960s are called ‘baby boomers’. The fall in the birth rate after the mild 1960s is the key reason why the numbers in work aged 16-24 began to fall from 1989. The baby boomers have gradually pushed their way through the age range of the working population. A worker aged 50 in 2006 was born in 1956, so the numbers of workers aged 50+ can be expected to increase at least until 2015.
millions | 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64(male)/50-59(female) | 65+
The labour force of a country is defined as the total number of workers who are available to work. Therefore it refers to all males and females, normally 15-16 years and over, who can contributed to the production of goods and services. As well as those actually in employment, it also includes those who are unemployed as these people are available for work.
A change in the labour force would normally be a slow process over time and could come about because of:
• a change in the labour force participation rate as a result of a change in the number of young people of working age remaining in education; alternatively, more could decide to seek work rather than stay in education.
Not only has the balance of the labour force changed between the sexes, it has also changed by age as table 5 shows. Since 1971, there has been a significant increase of 16-24 year old workers peaked in 1989 at 5.6 million and has since the mid 1990’s. Part of the reason for these changes has been demographic. The number of births increased the end of second world war to the mid 1906s.They then fell to 1978, rose again to 1990, fell to 2002 and are now rising again. These rises and falls create bulges of workers in the age distribution of the labour force. People born from the end of the second world war in 1945 to the mild- 1960s are called ‘baby boomers’. The fall in the birth rate after the mild 1960s is the key reason why the numbers in work aged 16-24 began to fall from 1989. The baby boomers have gradually pushed their way through the age range of the working population. A worker aged 50 in 2006 was born in 1956, so the numbers of workers aged 50+ can be expected to increase at least until 2015.
millions | 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64(male)/50-59(female) | 65+