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Source:
www.mom.gov.sg |
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A Statistical Profile of Older Workers: |
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Participation and employment
of our older males compare favourably with other countries |
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Benefiting from the strong economic
performance, a record high proportion of the older population are in the
labour force and in employment. |
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Both the participation and employment rates
of older males in Singapore now compare favourably to countries in the
region and beyond. |
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While older females have also made
significant gains, their participation and employment rates are
still relatively lower than in many developed countries. |
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These are the key findings of an
occasional paper on ¡°A Statistical Profile of Older Workers¡± from
the Ministry of Manpower¡¯s Research and Statistics Department. |
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Encouraged by the increased job
opportunities amid strong economic growth over the past two years,
a record high proportion of the older population aged 55 & over
are now participating in the labour market. |
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The labour force participation rate
for older males and females was significantly higher in 2006 than
a decade ago. This was helped also by the extension of the
retirement age to 62 years in 1999. |
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Specifically, the participation rate
among resident males aged 60 to 64 rose substantially from 49% in
1996 to 63% in 2006. Among females in the same age group, the rate
rose from 15% to 26%. |
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The labour force participation rate of
older males in Singapore compares favourably to countries in the
region and beyond. |
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For instance, the participation rate
of males aged 60 to 64 in Singapore at 63% in 2006 (53% in 2005)
is significantly higher than in Hong Kong (45%), Taiwan (47%),
Germany (41%), Netherlands (31%), France (19%), the United Kingdom
(56%) and the United States (59%). It is exceeded only by Japan,
South Korea and Sweden where around seven in ten males in the same
group were economically active. |
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Similarly, the proportion of men aged
55 to 59 in the labour force in Singapore is either higher or
comparable to many countries, except for Japan and Sweden. |
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In contrast, despite the improvement
in the labour force participation rate of older women in
Singapore, their rates still lag many of the developed countries
including the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, South
Korea and Japan. |
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A comparison of the employment rate
for the older population across countries yields similar findings
to that of the labour force participation rate. |
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The employment rate for older males in
Singapore in 2006 is generally higher than in many of the countries
compared (e.g. 60% of males aged 60 to 64 were employed in Singapore
compared with 42% in Hong Kong, 46% in Taiwan, 36% in Germany, 29% in
Netherlands, 18% in France, 54% in the United Kingdom and 57% in the
United States), except for Japan (67%), South Korea (67%) and Sweden
(61%). |
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In contrast, the employment rate for older
females in Singapore still lagged many countries, despite our recent
gains. |
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Older persons aged 50 & over made up close
to one-quarter (24%) of the resident workforce in 2006. |
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Reflecting their relatively less educated
profile, the majority (68%) of older workers were employed in
lower-skilled jobs such as cleaners, labourers & related workers (18%),
plant & machine operators & assemblers (16%) and service & sales workers
(15%). |
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These occupations also registered an
above-average incidence of older workers especially for cleaners,
labourers & related workers where more than half (53%) were aged 50 &
over. |
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The incidence of older workers was also high
among working proprietors and plant & machine operators & assemblers
(both 40%). |
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In contrast, only a small proportion of
residents working as professionals (10%) or associate professionals &
technicians (14%) were aged 50 & over. |
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More..... (charts) |
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Source:
www.mom.gov.sg Press Release 22 Feb
2007 |
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FrontPage Edition: Thu 22 February 2007
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