The labor market will stay tight as shifting demographics keep draining the talent pool, warns multinational recruitment agency CEO
Sander Van ‘T Noordende
November 28, 2023
Across the world, many countries are facing a rapidly aging population. This, combined with declining birth rates in these markets, will lead to long-term workforce worries, and in turn, serious consequences for developed economies.
According to the World Health Organization, from 2015 to 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 will nearly double from 12% to 22%. Reversing these demographics in many countries with aging populations will not be possible in the near or even medium term as these trends have been decades in the making. The sobering reality is that a structural gap in talent in many developed countries will continue to intensify in the foreseeable future.
Put simply, talent scarcity will be endemic to the labor market in the years and decades ahead. There’s going to be more work to be done by fewer people. And it is not just the number of people: there will also be a mismatch in terms of the skills that people have versus the skills that companies need in the market. The need for specialization in the labor market is arguably greater than ever.
