Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
An aging and active labor force
Jobs | Talent
July 16, 2024 – Aging populations pose a potential drag on labor force growth, yet older people are working for longer in many advanced economies. Analysis by Olivia White, a senior partner and a director of the McKinsey Global Institute, and colleagues shows that some countries are projecting as much as a 15 percent rise over the next decade in labor force participation among workers aged 55 to 64. Increased participation in some of these economies may reflect shifting pension policies and attitudes toward retirement.
To read the article, see “Help wanted: Charting the challenge of tight labor markets in advanced economies,” June 26, 2024.
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Visual form
Small-multiple grouped bar chart.
Layout / body structure
The visual is a grid of eight country panels, and each panel contains four age cohorts laid out left to right, with sets of bars for 2010, 2023, and projected 2030 values plus bracketed change labels above the older cohorts.
What is being compared
It compares labor force participation rates by age cohort across the US, Japan, Germany, Canada, the UK, Italy, France, and Australia, with special focus on how the 55-64 and 65+ cohorts change over time.
Measurement system
The vertical axis is percentage participation, and the small plus-number annotations above the older groups summarize the projected gain from 2023 to 2030 if recent growth continues.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Each country panel contains gray bars for younger and prime-age groups and blue bars for the older cohorts, with projection shading behind the future bars and thin brackets marking the expected increment for ages 55-64 and 65+.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart makes clear that the participation story is increasingly about older workers, because the projected gains are concentrated most strongly in the 55-64 group and, to a lesser extent, the 65+ group across nearly every country shown.
Key standout values or extremes
Italy shows one of the largest projected gains for ages 55-64 at +23, Germany and France both show +15, Japan shows +12, and even where prime-age participation is already high, the 55-64 bars keep rising well into the 60 to 80 percent range while the 65+ bars stay much lower but still trend up.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.