Big Picture: How the Canadian Labour Force is Changing Dr. Arthur Sweetman, professor of economics, Ontario Research Chair in Health Human Resources at McMaster University. The labour force is shaped by large-scale cultural, epidemiologic and demographic changes, some of them sudden, like the COVID-19 pandemic, and others slow and steady, like the aging population. “Some describe the aging population as the gray tsunami. But I think a much better metaphor is a tide,” says Dr. Arthur Sweetman, an economics professor who studies human resources in health care. “It isn’t sudden or unpredictable, instead, it’s a gradual process with huge implications that can be foreseen far in advance. This allows for preparation.” In 2022, about 19% of the Canadian population was age 65 or older. “As people get older, their purchasing patterns change,” says Dr. Sweetman. “Younger people buy more material goods, but older people buy more services.” The service economy has grown and will continue to grow, which changes the demands of the labour market. “Not only are there more older people, but there is more wealth among this demographic now than in the past,” he says. “The leading edge of the Baby Boomers turned age 75 in 2021. This is an age when people tend to use more health care services. We will see increased demand for services of all kinds, but especially those in health care.” Dr. Sweetman explains that when the Baby Boomer generation was in the workforce, there was an abundance of workers relative to retirees. “But now the proportion of people of working age is smaller, so there is an overall shortage of workers,” he says. “Now we have large temporary workforces in Canada, and there is a hope that increased immigration might provide more workers to stimulate our economy.” 35 Issue 3 | 2024 |
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