Copy Japan to solve unemployment, UK urges

Britain should learn from Japan to attract more older people to work, says a new report.

Greater education and retraining for people over 50, action against age discrimination and a new focus on health and obesity will help boost employment for people approaching retirement, according to the Economic Growth Commission.

B B In Japan, more than three-quarters of people aged 55 to 64 are economically active. In contrast, in the UK, only 65% ​​of the same age group are employed.

Japan has had to find ways to ensure older people continue to work as it faces an aging population. The country ranks third in the world in terms of population age: the average age is almost 50 years.

The average age in the UK is estimated to be just over 40, but Britain's population is also aging as birth rates fall.

Naohiro Yashiro, economist and economic growth commissioner, said: «The UK is facing its own » Japaneseization.» ' process in the coming years.»

He said preventing age discrimination should receive greater emphasis «as we enter an era where we need to retain our workforce to pay for public pensions and rising health bills.»

It comes amid growing concern that Britain has an unemployment problem because too many adults are out of work and not looking for work.

Mr Yashiro said getting more over-50s into work could add 0.4 percentage points to the UK's economic growth rate.

Increasing economic activity in this age group could be achieved by providing more support for retraining and further education for those already in one career.

“High school students are really good — they want to go into business,” said Mr. Yashiro, who is also a professor of economics at Showa Women's University in Tokyo.

“Younger students who haven’t worked are not interested in economics. and business in general, but after you've worked for a company you're more interested.»

Improving the health of people over 50 is also key, he said, since obesity is a particularly important cause of poor health in the West .

The UK is unlikely to want to follow all of Japan's policies. Some companies support mandatory retirement ages, which are used to create vacancies in management positions so younger workers can advance in their careers.

Mr. Yashiro said officials have tried to counter this by encouraging businesses to rehire those workers. but usually at a lower wage rate.

There are also cultural factors: in Japan, the prevailing view is that a long working life is preferable to early retirement.

Mr. Yashiro said: “Polls ask older people how long they would like to work, and most say, How long can I?”