By Zhang Bingzi, Research Institute of Social Development, DRC

Research Report, No.114, 2018 (Total 5389) 2018-7-18

Abstract: The demand for elderly-care service is increasing rapidly in China. According to the bed requirements for elderly care, it is estimated that by 2020, China will need about 640,000 elderly-care workers, and by 2050, the number of elderly-care workers would increase to 1.24 million. However, if all disabled and semi-ablebodied elderly people can all be covered by elderly-care service, the above-mentioned number of elderly-care workers would increase respectively to 5.2 million and 13.14 million by 2020 and 2050 in the broad sense. We should actively use new technological means such as auxiliary equipment and intelligent equipment to enable the old people to handle their own problems and act on their own, reduce their dependence on elderly-care workers, and focus on the influence of new technological means on the skill and structure demand of elderly-care workers. In the future, we should further stress the importance of the elderly-care industry and enhance the nursing ability of elderly-care workers. For instance, we need to increase financial support for skilled elderly-care workers, improve their lifelong education and training, focus on the cultivation of their cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, shore up the training of non-professional workers, flesh out the employment system of the industry, and actively and steadily open up the elderly-care market.

Key words: elderly-care workers, demand prediction, aging, new technologies