Intergenerational report: reducing barriers for women, older Australians could boost workforce

More Australians are currently in the workforce "than ever before", according to the latest iteration of the intergenerational report unveiled by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Thursday.

But as the population ages, employment participation rates are forecast to decrease from 66.6 per cent in 2022-23 to 63.8 per cent by 2062-63.

"Further increasing employment opportunities for people from historically underrepresented groups, women, and older Australians who may wish to work more, may help offset the effects of ageing on labour force participation," the report states.

With Australians set to live longer and have more years of "full health", the report suggests making the workplace more attractive to older people.

The Treasury forecasts that by 2062-63, life expectancy at birth will increase to 87 years for men and 89.5 years for women.

Better health and an increase in "less physically demanding jobs" has already provided more options for older Australians to remain in work and the continuation of these trends could encourage further participation in the coming decades.

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The report also found that over the past 40 years, the growth of the labour force has largely been driven by women, with their participation in the workforce increasing by more than 17 percentage points over this period.

Societal, legislative and demographic changes, including more women getting a higher education and having children later in life, have led to the gender gap in workforce participation narrowing during this time.

The gap is expected to become even smaller over the coming decades, dropping to around 7 percentage points in 2062-63.

Less barriers to employment, such as unequal and unpaid care work, will be vital to reducing the gap, states the report.

According to the figures it cites, women on average "spent around 40 per cent more time on unpaid work each day than men".

"Well-designed paid parental leave and early childhood education and care policies can play an important role in encouraging parents to share unpaid care responsibilities and boost women's labour force participation," the report states.

But it also acknowledges that other elements, such as gender stereotypes, discrimination and harassment at some jobs as well as family violence affect women's participation in the labour force.

"Addressing these barriers will help ensure that workers' skills are utilised to their full potential, and all people who want to work can choose the career that best suits them," the report states.

Treasury expects that changing workforce trends could provide further opportunities for women and older Australians.

"The shift towards higher skilled service jobs will likely provide women and older Australians with more options to participate in paid work should they wish to, as it has done in the past," the report says.

It also notes that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well as people with disabilities are employed at lower rates than other Australians, stating that "reducing barriers to participation and lifting opportunities for these groups can increase overall participation".

The government will release an Employment White Paper detailing strategies to reduce employment barriers for Australians next month.