Effects of Demographic Aging on Older Workers and the Workforce Structure of Companies

This project examines the expected effects of population aging on the Austrian labour market from the perspective of labour supply and age structures in companies. At the level of the labour force, the analysis focuses on employment opportunities, qualifications and health, while at the level of companies, the analysis focuses on the age structure of the workforce and its observable development in the course of demographic aging. These different perspectives make it possible on the one hand to show different consequences of population aging and on the other hand to provide a quantification of possible future development trends, which can form a framework for planning political action. This research project has a modular structure and comprises in module 1 a forecast of the change in the labour supply until 2040, subdivided into employment, unemployment and inactive states. In particular, developments with regard to health restrictions as well as the age and education structure of the labour force are examined and assessed with regard to their shaping by means of scenario techniques. Module 2 describes the age structure of the workforce at the company level and thus provides insight into the current situation and allows conclusions to be drawn about the challenges companies will face in the future with regard to the aging of the workforce.