英国劳动力老化，有利有弊。 Older workers年长工人 Sticking around坚持到底 The recession has sped up the ageing of Britains workforce 经济衰退加速了英国劳动力的老化 A RECENT BBC documentary, “The Town That Never Retired”, sought to show the effects of increasing the state pension age by putting retirees back to work. Although the results were entertaining, they need not have bothered. Away from the cameras, unprecedented numbers of older people are staying in work. Since the start of the recession that began in 2008, the number of 16- to 24-year-olds in work has fallen by 597,000. Over the same period the number of workers over the age of 65 has increased by 240,000 (see chart). BBC（英国广播公司）最近的 一部纪录片，“永不退休的城镇”，试图展现将退休人员拉回工作而增加领取国家退休金的年龄的影响。虽然其结果是令人愉快的，退休人员不再使人烦恼。镜头之 外，仍在工作的年长者们的数目空前巨大。自始于2008的经济萧条以来，16至24周岁的工作者们的数量下降了59,7000。同一时期，65周岁以上的 工作者数量增加了24,0000（见图表）。 The greying of the British workforce dates back to around 2001, since when the proportion of older people working has nearly doubled. But it has accelerated since the start of the recession. There are several reasons why. Happily, people are living longer and healthier lives, which makes staying in work less daunting than it was. Less happily, low interest rates, a stagnant stock market and the end of many defined-benefit pension schemes (where employees are guaranteed a payout linked to earnings and service) make it a financial necessity. And changing attitudes, spurred by rules against age discrimination, are making it easier than ever. 英 国劳动力的老化得追溯到2001年，自那时起，年长工作者的比例已经几近加倍。但是从大萧条时期开始加速。于此，有以下几点原因。首先，幸运的是，人们过 着更长寿、更健康的生活，这使得继续工作不再像以前那样让人感到气馁。不幸的是，低的息率、萧条的股票市场及很多固定福利退休金计划的终结（在该计划中， 从业者根据自己的收入及服务可得到一笔津贴）使之成为财政上的必然。而且在反年龄歧视规则的驱动下，人们态度慢慢改变，这也使之较以往更容易。 Most older workers are simply hanging on at the office: 63% of workers over state pension age (currently 65 for men and a little over 61 for women) have been with their employer for more than ten years. Over two-thirds of them work part-time, mostly doing jobs that they once performed full-time. A big advantage is that they do not pay national insurance contributionseffectively a second income tax on younger workers. 很 多年长工作者们仅是坚持待在办公室里：超过国家退休金年龄（当前是男性滿65周岁，女性61岁多一点）的工作者们，63%的人已工作了十年以上。这些人 中，三分之二以上的人仅在部分时间工作，主要做他们曾在全职时所做的工作。一个很大的好处是他们不用再支付国民保险税年轻工作者们的第二大所得税。 According to Stephen McNair, director of the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce, this flexibility explains why older workers have not suffered so much in the slump. Instead of slashing the workforce, as in previous recessions, many firms have halted recruitment and cut working hours. At small businesses in particular, keeping on older workers is cheaper and less risky than training replacements. Over half of workers over state pension age work for businesses with fewer than 25 employees (though this may also reflect poorer pension provision). 据 老化劳动力研究中心的主任斯蒂芬 麦克纳（Stephen McNair）认为，这种弹性解释了为什么在经济衰退中年长工作者们并没有遭受太多影响。与之前的萧条时期不同的是，很多公司并没有大量裁员，而是采取不 再招聘以及缩减工时的方式。尤其是在小公司里，保住老员工比训练新人更节省也能减少风险性。逾国家退休金年龄者中超过一半的人在少于25个职员的小企业工 作（尽管这也反映了更差劲的养老金规划）。 Christopher Nieper, who owns David Nieper, a womenswear manufacturer based in Derbyshire, prizes his semi-retired workers, who can be employed at short notice and do not need to work full-time to survive. Retired machinists can fill in if there is a surge in orders; former sales advisers can work as part-time consultants. As his competitors have moved production abroad, depleting the pool of trained labour, retaining older workers and their skills has become even more important. 一家总部位于德比郡 的女装制造商的老板克里斯多夫，很珍视他的半退休员工们，这些人可在短时间内上工且并不需要全职工作来谋生。如果订单很多，退休的机械师们也可以加入工 作；前任销售顾问们也可以继续担任兼职顾问。因克里斯多夫的对手们都已将生产放在国外，耗尽熟手之后，留下来的老员工们和他们的技能已变得更为重要。 There is scope for the older workforce to expand. Workers over the age of 50 who are made unemployed find it harder to pick up new jobs, which could mean that more oldsters want to work than are able to. That would be good. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog, reported on July 12th that an ageing, unproductive population is the biggest long-term threat to Britains economic health. 年长劳动力仍有扩大的空间。五十岁以上的失业人员越来越难找到工作，这意味着越来越多的上了年纪的人想要工作，多过能胜任工作的人。那也许是好事情。英国预算责任办公室，财政监察部门，在7月12日报道，一个老化的、不生产的群体是英国经济健全中最大的长远威胁。 Data from the OECD, a think-tank, shows that employment rates among workers approaching retirement age are split in Europe, with old workers hanging on best in the north. Government credit ratings follow a similar pattern. That Britains ageing workforce more closely resembles Germanys than Italys could prove the countrys salvation. 来自一个智囊团-经济合作与发展组织的数据表明，近退休工人的就业率在欧洲是不平衡的，在北部的老年员工就业情况情况最好。政府的信用级别也遵循类似的模式。英国的老化劳动力更类似于德国而非意大利这一点可以证实这个国家的解救措施的作用。