Research

Generations-Demographic Trends in Population and Workforce: Quick Take

Nov 07, 2019

Generation names and age spans are defined somewhat differently depending on country and/or region. Roughly speaking, the following generation names and age spans are considered “global” generations:1

Baby Boomers: 1946–1964
Generation X: 1965–1980
Millennials: 1981-1996
Generation Z: After 1996

GLOBAL

By 2025, Millennials Will Comprise Three-Quarters of the Global Workforce2
  • People between the ages 15 to 24 make up almost 20% of the world’s population.3
  • They account for more than 15% of the global labor force.4

By 2020, 41.0% of the global population will be 24 years old or younger.5

Asia Will Feel the Greatest Impact of Aging6

The increase in India’s working age population in the next decade will account for more than half of the total increase across Asia.7

  • India could better benefit from their demographic dividend (growing youth population) by increasing the labor force participation of women.8

China’s workforce peaked in 2011 and has been falling ever since.9

  • China’s working age population shrank by 25 million between 2012 and 2017.10
  • While China’s labor force remains large, the decline in young adults have led to labor shortages in certain industries.11

Japan’s population is quickly shrinking and aging.12

  • Japan’s population declined by over a quarter of a million people between 2017 and 201813, and the decline is projected to hit half a million in the next ten years.14
  • Slightly over 28% of Japan’s total population was 65 or older in 2018, a record high.15
Australia’s Population Is Aging16
  • In 2017, 19% of the population was younger than 15.17
    • This is projected to decrease to between 16% and 18% by 2066.18
  • In 2017, 15% of the population was 65 or older.19
    • This is projected to increase to between 21% and 23% in 2066.20

CANADA

Despite the Low Growth of the Working-Age Population from 2011-2016, Canada Has the Highest Proportion of Working-Age People of the G7 Countries21
  • In 2016, 66.5% of Canada’s population was working-age (15–64).22

Canada has an aging population, with its largest increase in seniors in 70 years as of the 2016 Census.23

  • According to various labour force projections, the number of seniors in the population could increase from 17.2% in 2018 to between 21.4% and 29.5% in 2068.24
    • This rise in seniors would peak between 2018 and 2030, when all Baby Boomers would reach age 65.25

EUROPE

The EU’s Workforce Is Shrinking26

Millennials are the European Union’s minority population.27

  • There are fewer Millennials and Generation Z in the workforce than Boomers in Europe.28

The EU’s population of those aged 80 years or older is projected to more than double by 2100 (from 5.6% in 2018 to 14.6% in 2100).29

  • The population of adults in retirement age (65 years or older) will make up 31.3% of the EU’s population by 2100, compared to 19.8% in 2018.30
  • Although reaching retirement age, adults are staying in the labour force longer.31

The retirement-age population will be larger than the working-age population in Europe in the coming decades.32

  • The working-age population is expected to continue to decline until 2100.33

UNITED STATES

Millennials Account for Over a Third of the US Labor Force34
  • Millennials will soon be the largest living generation in the United States labor force.35
  • Generation Z have started working, making up 5% of the labor force.36
Despite the Increase in Millennials’ Representation, the Overall US Population Continues to Grow Older37

The population of older Americans is expected to more than double by 2060.38

  • By 2030, 1 in 5 US residents will be retirement age.39
  • A majority of the Boomers were still in the labor force in 2018.40

The population of working-age adults is expected to decrease by 5% by 2060.41

Six Out of Ten Workers Over 45 Have Seen or Experienced Age Discrimination42

However, only 3% reported making a formal complaint of age discrimination.43

Young Immigrants Will Continue to Contribute to the Growth of Working Millennials44
  • Millennials are increasingly likely to be foreign-born with a first language other than English.45
  • In 2014, 25% of Millennials spoke a language other than English at home.46
  • By 2030, net migration is projected to become the primary cause of population growth in the United States.47

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Catalyst, Infographic: Revealing the Real Millennials (March 2, 2015).

Catalyst, Webinar Recording: Generations at Work (September 21, 2017).

Deloitte, “Meet the US Workforce of the Future: Older, More Diverse, and More Educated,” (2017).

EY, Next-gen Workforce: Secret Weapon or Biggest Challenge? (2016).

Harvard Business Review, “A Survey of 19 Countries Shows How Generations X, Y, and Z Are – and Aren’t – Different,” (2017).

Harvard Business Review, “Generational Differences At Work Are Small. Thinking They’re Big Affects Our Behavior,” (2019).

McKinsey, ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its Implications for Companies (November 2018).

Pew Research Center, “Generations and Age.”

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Generations—Demographic Trends in Population and Workforce (November 7, 2019).

  1. Depending on the source, the names of the Generations and the dates they were born between tends to vary. One study cites Baby Boomers as being born between 1945-1964; Generation X between 1965-1979; and Millennials (aka Generation Y) between 1980-1991. [Tim Krywulak and Martha Roberts, “Winning the ‘Generation Wars:’ Making the Most of Generational Differences and Similarities in the Workplace,” (The Conference Board of Canada, November 16, 2009).] Another study lists Baby Boomers as born between 1943-1960; Generation X between 1961-1981; and Millennials after 1982. [Steff Gelston, “Gen Y, Gen X and the Baby Boomers: Workplace Generation Wars,” CIO, January 30, 2008.] Another study cites Generation X as being born between 1965-1980; Millennials between 1981-1996; and Generation Z (or the Post-Millennial generation) after 1996. [Pew Research Center, “The Generations Defined,” April 11, 2018.] Other studies show the start of Generation Z being born after 1996. [Jonah Engel Bromwich, “We Asked Generation Z to Pick a Name. It Wasn’t Generation Z.,” The New York Times, January 31, 2018; Orlando Crowcroft, “Europe’s Fintech Startups Target Generation Z,” Sifted, August 8, 2019.].
  2. EY, Global Generations: A Global Study on Work-Life Challenges Across Generations (2015): p. 1.
  3. ILO, World Employment Social Outlook: Youth (2016): p. 1.
  4. ILO, World Employment Social Outlook: Youth (2016): p. 1.
  5. United Nations, “Percentage of Total Population by Broad Age Group, Both Sexes (Per 100 Total Population),” World Population Prospects 2019 (2019).
  6. Deloitte Insights, Voice of Asia: Third Edition (September 2017): p. 22.
  7. Deloitte Insights, Voice of Asia: Third Edition (September 2017): p. 17.
  8. Deloitte Insights, Voice of Asia: Third Edition (September 2017): p. 4.
  9. Jennifer Pak, “What Worries China’s Manufacturers More Than Tariffs? Labor Shortages,” Marketplace, December 4, 2018.
  10. Jennifer Pak, “What Worries China’s Manufacturers More Than Tariffs? Labor Shortages,” Marketplace, December 4, 2018.
  11. Deloitte Insights, Voice of Asia: Third Edition (September 2017): p. 32.
  12. Statistics Bureau, Statistical Handbook of Japan (September 2019): p. 9.
  13. Statistics Bureau, Statistical Handbook of Japan (September 2019): p. 9.
  14. Deloitte Insights, Voice of Asia: Third Edition (September 2017): p. 34.
  15. Statistics Bureau, Statistical Handbook of Japan (September 2019): p. 13.
  16. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “3222.0 – Population Projections, Australia, 2017 (Base) – 2066,” (November 2018).
  17. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “3222.0 – Population Projections, Australia, 2017 (Base) – 2066,” (November 2018).
  18. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “3222.0 – Population Projections, Australia, 2017 (Base) – 2066,” (November 2018).
  19. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “3222.0 – Population Projections, Australia, 2017 (Base) – 2066,” (November 2018).
  20. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “3222.0 – Population Projections, Australia, 2017 (Base) – 2066,” (November 2018).
  21. Statistics Canada, “Census in Brief: Recent Trends for the Population Aged 15 to 64 in Canada,” (2018): p. 1.
  22. Statistics Canada, “Census in Brief: Recent Trends for the Population Aged 15 to 64 in Canada,” (2018): p. 1.
  23. “Age and Sex, and Type of Dwelling Data: Key Results from the 2016 Census,” The Daily, May 3, 2017: p. 3.
  24. Statistics Canada, “Population Projections for Canada (2018 to 2068), Provinces and Territories (2018 to 2043),” (September 17, 2019).
  25. Statistics Canada, “Population Projections for Canada (2018 to 2068), Provinces and Territories (2018 to 2043),” (September 17, 2019).
  26. Deloitte Insights, Voice of the Workforce in Europe (2018).
  27. Bruce Stokes, “Who are Europe’s Millennials?,” Pew Research Center Fact Tank (February 9, 2015).
  28. Deloitte Insights, Voice of the Workforce in Europe (2018).
  29. Eurostat, “Population Structure and Ageing,” (2019): p. 7.
  30. Eurostat, “Population Structure and Ageing,” (2019): p. 9.
  31. Deloitte Insights, Voice of the Workforce in Europe (2018): p. 4.
  32. Eurostat, “Population Structure and Ageing,” (2019).
  33. Eurostat, “Population Structure and Ageing,” (2019): p. 9.
  34. Richard Fry, “Millennials Are the Largest Generation in the U.S. Labor Force,” Pew Research Center Fact Tank (April 11, 2018).
  35. Richard Fry, “Millennials Are the Largest Generation in the U.S. Labor Force,” Pew Research Center Fact Tank (April 11, 2018).
  36. Richard Fry, “Millennials Are the Largest Generation in the U.S. Labor Force,” Pew Research Center Fact Tank (April 11, 2018).
  37. “Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in U.S. History,” US Census Bureau press release, March 13, 2018.
  38. Sandra L. Colby and Jennifer M. Ortman, Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060 (US Census Bureau, March 2015): p. 5.
  39. “Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in U.S. History,” US Census Bureau press release, March 13, 2018.
  40. Richard Fry, “Baby Boomers are Staying in the Labor Force at Rates Not Seen in Generations for People Their Age,” Pew Research Center Fact Tank (July 24, 2019).
  41. Sandra L. Colby and Jennifer M. Ortman, Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060 (US Census Bureau, March 2015): p. 5.
  42. Victoria A. Lipnic, The State of Age Discrimination and Older Workers in the U.S. 50 Years After the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, June 2018): p. 27.
  43. Victoria A. Lipnic, The State of Age Discrimination and Older Workers in the U.S. 50 Years After the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, June 2018): p. 28.
  44. Richard Fry, “Millennials are the Largest Generation in the U.S. Labor Force,” Pew Research Center Fact Tank (April 11, 2018).
  45. “New Census Bureau Statistics Show How Young Adults Today Compare with Previous Generations in Neighborhoods Nationwide,” US Census Bureau press release, December 4, 2014.
  46. “New Census Bureau Statistics Show How Young Adults Today Compare with Previous Generations in Neighborhoods Nationwide,” US Census Bureau press release, December 4, 2014.
  47. “Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in U.S. History,” US Census Bureau press release, March 13, 2018.