Yet Another Spin on the Impact of Retiring Boomers
Retiring baby boomers will slow the rate of growth of the labour force significantly over the next twenty years, according to Statistics Canada.
While there could be as many as 22.5 million people working by 2031, up from 18.5 million last year, projections suggest that the rate of growth will slow to between 0.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent a year in the early 2020s. This is in contrast to the '70s, when the labour force increased at an average rate of some four per cent a year.
In 1981, there were roughly six people working for each retiree. By 2031, the ratio will be three to one, Statistics Canada forecasts. By that time, the entire baby-boom generation will have reached the age of 65.
Statscan states: “The projected decline in the overall participation rate over the next two decades would be largely attributable to demographic phenomena, such as the aging of the baby boom cohorts, increasing life expectancy and a fertility rate below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.”
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