Grey-haired workforce on the increase

Workers of retirement age and older will account for more than a fifth of the labour force by 2028, projections from Statistics New Zealand show.

The latest mid-range labour force projection showed the proportion of workers aged 65 and over was expected to peak at 23 per cent in 2028, up from 6 per cent in 1991 and 12 per cent in 2006.

About 240,000 workers will be of retirement age and older in 2031.

Statistics NZ population statistics manager Denise McGregor said the number of people in the workforce of retirement age and older was increasing significantly.

"This is a direct result of changing attitudes to retirement and increased flexibility in the retirement age, with increasing life expectancy ... and well-being in the older ages," she said.

"The updated projections continue to confirm the increasingly important role of the older labour force in the future labour market."

Half the labour force will be older than 42 next year, compared with a median age of 36 in 1991. The total labour force was expected to increase to 2.75 million in 2031 and 3 million in 2061, up from 2.24 million at June 2006.

But labour force growth over the next five years was expected to slow from an average of 38,000 a year between 2006 and 2011, to 23,000 between 2011 and 2016.

Growth would continue to slow, with an average growth of 5000 a year between 2056 and 2061.

The projections took into account all people aged 15 years and over who worked for pay for an hour or more each week, or worked without pay in a family business, or were unemployed and actively seeking work.

- NZPA