Current and future skills of the workforce

This chapter examines the demographic and education structure of the labour force in OECD countries since 2000 and its evolution over the next decade, paying special attention to the role of international migration. It shows the increase in educational attainment of both native- and foreign-born individuals in the labour force and estimates a continuing increase in the near future, although at lower rates than in the past. In parallel, it projects a shrinking of the share of the lower-educated labour force, with migrants nonetheless accounting for a large share of entries. The chapter projects that the labour force will grow on average 4% in the OECD over the period 2010-20, much less than in the previous decade. It points as well that projected migration inflows will account for all this observed positive labour force growth, even if those inflows will be significantly lower than in the previous decade. The chapter shows how migration will continue to make a positive contribution to labour force growth over the decade even under more limited migration scenarios.

Matching Economic Migration with Labour Market Needs

Current and future skills of the workforce

The demography of educational attainment and the role of migration