Business students’ perceptions of an aging workforce, higher retirement age and youth unemployment

Abstract

The relationship between an aging workforce, higher retirement age, and youth unemployment has already been established in the available literature. However, empirical research on the impact of an aging workforce, and higher retirement age on youth unemployment is limited, has conflicting results, has occurred mostly overseas, and has not considered the perceptions of young people who are about to enter the workforce. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the perceptions of the youth on the relationship between the aging workforce, higher retirement age, immigration policies, and youth unemployment. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the responses of 183 business students. The findings establish that five relationships were supported out of seven hypothesized relationships. The key research finding reveal that immigration policies and higher retirement age are significantly related to youth unemployment. Lastly, the theoretical and managerial implications of the study were discussed, along with the limitations and recommendations for future research.