MORE older Singaporeans were working last year, compared to the past 16 years.
But many others were still not taking up jobs, especially women.
These were the findings of a report on older residents who were employed as at June last year, released by the Manpower Ministry's Research and Statistics Department on Tuesday.
It found that as at June last year, 47.8 per cent of residents aged 50 and over were employed.
This is up from a low of 35.9 per cent in 1991, when such data was first published. It is also an increase from the previous record high of 46 per cent in 2006.
The bulk of the increase came from older people joining the workforce - the result of sustained economic growth and strong job creation in recent years.
Correspondingly, the proportion of economically inactive older people dropped from 51.9 per cent in June 2006 to 50.4 per cent in June 2007.
Some 495,300 residents belong to this group who remained economically inactive last June. Among them were 113,100 women aged 50 to 64 who had either stopped working for at least a decade or had never worked before.
The Manpower Ministry noted that given the rapid changes in the economy and job requirements, this group of women may lack the skills to find a job.
So programmes to upgrade their skills and prepare them for work will go hand in hand with other efforts to encourage them to go back to work, such as the provision of part-time and flexible work arrangements, it said.
About older workers
THERE were 469,400 residents aged 50 and over at work as at June last year.
Sectors with highest proportion of older workers:
Land transport and supporting services (52 per cent)
Administrative and support services including cleaning and security (42 per cent)
Restaurants (41 per cent)
Jobs with highest proportion of older workers:
Cleaners, labourers and related workers (57 per cent)
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers (43 per cent)
