Chronic health problems have kept more than 650,000 older Australians from continuing their work, a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has revealed.
Professor Deborah Schofield, Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health research director, analyzed data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and released his research on Sunday which found that chronic health conditions have stopped Australians aged 45-64 from working.
The study, written by Schofield and his research team, estimated that 663,235 older Australians were missing from the workforce because of ill health in 2003, reducing Australia' s gross domestic product by about 14.7 billion (10 billion U.S. dollars) a year.
"Back injuries, arthritis and mental health disorders accounted for approximately half the missing workers," Schofield said on Sunday.
Other long-term health conditions stopping employment were nervous system problems, heart disease, diabetes, and asthma.
The government has tried tax incentives to encourage older Australians into work, but the new study says that improving health may be key.
According to Schfield, government policy has focused on economic incentives to increase employment of older people. However, these economic measures "have not addressed the health conditions associated with much of the low labor force participation of older workers, and are unlikely to have a major impact on the labor force participation of people who are ill."
The research team suggested the government target growing levels of obesity and depression, which were both risk factor for numerous chronic conditions. |
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