Workforce numbers will keep rising until 2030, despite Taiwan’s working-age population — the demographic between 15 and 64 — reaching its peak this year, according to a government report released on Wednesday.
The National Development Council (NDC) report, which contains estimates for the nation’s population trends from this year through 2061, said the ratio of Taiwan’s working-age people to the total population is higher than in Japan, South Korea and other developed countries, giving the country a “population bonus.”
As many people aged 65 or older are still working, Taiwan’s workforce might not necessarily shrink, even though the population in the 15-to-64 demographic will begin to get smaller later this year, Department of Human Resources Development director Lin Chih-mei (林至美) said.
Another factor affecting the size of the workforce is the participation rate, she said, adding that between 2009 and last year, the labor participation rate grew by 0.13 percentage points per year on average.
From January through July, the labor participation rate stood at an average of 58.68 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the same period last year, she said.
If the participation rate remains at last year’s level, Taiwan’s total workforce will continue rising until 2030, with an estimated 19,000 people joining the workforce annually, Lin said.
This trend will soften the impact of declining birth rates and an aging population, she said.
However, as the population ages and the number of retirees increases, it will be increasingly difficult to see an expanding workforce, Lin said.
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