SINGAPORE: Annual statistics from the Ministry of Manpower show that two out of three senior citizens from the ages of 60 to 64 were part of the country’s workforce, a report released on June 30 (Friday) says.
This number reflects a ten-year peak in the number of people from this age group who are still working.
MOM’s yearbook is a compilation of a broad range of statistics regarding the country’s labour market, including key data on the workforce, job vacancy, wages, retrenchment, labour turnover, hours worked, employment conditions, labour relations, workplace safety and health, training and higher education.
As for older seniors, those aged 65 and up, 31 per cent in this age group were employed in 2022, slightly lower than in the previous year, when 31.7 per cent were employed.
Nevertheless, more older Singaporeans are working.
Between 2019 and 2022, their ranks increased by 1.1%-points per year, in comparison with the years between 2012 and 2019, when they only rose by +0.9%-points per year.
More broadly, the share of senior citizens aged 55 and older in the resident labour force increased from 19 per cent in 2012 to 27 per cent in 2022.
This is due in part to Singapore’s ageing population as well as a sizable increase in their participation in the workforce during these years.
The industries where seniors are the most employed are Land Transport and Supporting Services (e.g. taxi, private-hire car drivers, and bus drivers) and Food and Beverage Services (e.g. hawkers, food/drink stall assistants), where they are at 54 per cent and 42 per cent, respectively.
There are a number of reasons why seniors have joined these industries, such as low educational requirements and possibilities for part-time employment and self-employment in these sectors.
“Building on sustained efforts to raise the employability of seniors, the progressive increase in re-employment ages will help more older workers who wish to continue working remain at work,” the MOM report reads.
/TISG