Working seniors more than doubled in Singapore in a decade

Workers' median age is now three-years older than in 2006.

As the earlier cohorts of post-war baby boomers moved into their 60s over the recent decade and the Labour Force Participation Rate (LPFR) for older residents continued to rise, the share of those aged 60 & over in the resident labour force more than doubled from 5.5% in 2006 to 13% in 2016, latest data from the Ministry of Manpower show.

As a result, the median age of residents in the labour force rose to 43 years in 2016 from 40 years in 2006.

By breakdown, LPFR of those aged 60-64 rose to 7.3% from 3.1%; 65-69 seniors grew to 3.9% from 1.6%; and those 70&over expanded to 1.9% from 0.8%.

Overall, LPFR trended up over the last five years. It declined slightly in 2016 at 68% after a sharp increase at 68.3%.