"Unemployee-ment" is coming

It might be awkward to say or read but “unemployEEment” is coming. What is it? Essentially it is a shrinking of the working population across countries like the US, China, Germany and the UK – essentially most of the world’s economy.

A new report from StepStone – a next generation recruitment platform – says that “Although the classic immigration countries, the US and UK, are not yet directly impacted by the decline in the working population yet, the once strong populational increase, which acted as a driver of growth and prosperity is declining significantly or even disappearing altogether. And at the same time, the proportion of the older population is also increasing massively. Meaning that as there are fewer people having to perform more, economic growth is made more difficult.”

According to the report (and the UN), many countries are not looking at these inevitable issues and/or are underestimating the consequences.

StepStone says only one in five of those surveyed worldwide think the size of the working population will decline as massively as forecasted. One in three even assumes the size of the working population will continue to grow. However, people from Germany (29%) are still the most likely to be aware of the development. In the UK it is 25% and in China 17%. In the US, only one in 10 predicts the right development.

Population growth in the four countries surveyed has had a relatively steady climb until the mid 2010s. At that point, and beyond, growth rates begin to shrink exacerbating the problem of a decline in the working population.

The low level of awareness in the US is not a surprise, says the survey, because the development there is far less dramatic than, for example, in Germany. The high profile in the UK is, however, rather surprising.

The misjudgment and underestimation is occurring at all levels. Top decision makers are not really aware of the challenge and only about a quarter of respondents from upper management estimated the issue correctly. The good news is that of those who understand the problem, more than two-thirds consider it problematic.

The report goes on to say there are two strategies to address the “unemployEEment: Increase the number of workers in other ways and/or make each worker more productive. For example:

• integrate all people equally in their diversity into working life
• promote labor immigration and extend the working life
• more efficient automation as well as greater flexibility in the labor market ensures that people take on tasks for which they are most needed and where they can make the greatest difference.