 Understanding Ageing Public Sector Workforces: Demographic challenge or a consequence of public employment policy design?Linda Colley Public Management Review, 2014, vol. 16, issue 7, 1030-1052 Abstract: In all OECD countries, populations and workforces are ageing, with public services generally being older than broader labour markets. Governments are concerned at the looming capacity crisis and identifying policy responses. However, they have generally identified the problem as a simple change in demographics. This article adds a new perspective to this policy debate. Using a study of an Australian state public service, it identifies an association between changes in public employment policies and changes in the workforce age profile. It suggests that current employment policies, which replaced the traditional focus on youth recruitment with a more open public sector labour market, have made it inevitable that public workforces would age and be older than the general labour market. Policy responses to the older public workforce need to go beyond demographic explanations, to accept the older public workforce as the new norm, and align public employment policies accordingly. Date: 2014 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:16:y:2014:i:7:p:1030-1052 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2013.771697 Access Statistics for this article Public Management Review is currently edited by Professor Stephen P. Osborne, Jenny Harrow and Tobias Jung More articles in Public Management Review from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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