Demographic and labour market change: The dynamics of older workers in the Scottish labour market

This paper presents a review, of ageing in the Scottish labour market. Scotland's population structure has been ageing for some decades leading to an ageing of the working population, at a rate ahead of man-V countries in Europe. Low levels of fertility, increased participation in post-compulsory education and low levels of labour market participation after the age of 50 have further contributed to an anticipated marked failure decline in workforce numbers. This ageing of the work-force will mean that in the future Scotland is likely to have to rely on a smaller proportion of its population to provide its services and produce its economic wealth. It also poses a number of questions around the supply of skills and labour for Scottish employers. In particular, with a declining labour force from where will employers draw labour? There are a number of important policy implications: specifically, what are the most effective ways and at what spatial level are the most effective means of addressing labour market ageing in Scotland. The paper examines the demographic context, spatial variations in ageing, the labour market participation of older workers, how current policy is addressing this issue and what should be done.