Quantitative Analysis on the Eldercare Labor Demand in China

According to principles of labor economics, eldercare labor demand is a derived demand, because eldercare labor can provide eldercare services for those who is lack of self care ability or with insufficient self care ability. On the one hand, due to the severe weakening of family care functions, the care provided by family members is increasingly insufficient, and the care demand among aging population is transforming into the eldercare labor demand in the labor market. According to data released by the Department of the National Health Commission, by the end of 2021, the number of elderly suffering from chronic diseases exceeded 190 million in China, and the number of older adults with disability, semi-disability, and dementia reached 45 million. Based on the international staffing ratio of care-giver to care-receiver, the eldercare labor demand reached over 6 million. On the other hand, the working aging population in China has been decreasing year by year since 2012, and some provinces have even begun to experience negative population growth in recent years.