The share of the population participating in the labour force is at a record high. The two main groups contributing to this rise in participation are females and older workers. I will discuss each of these in turn and some of the forces driving the outcomes over both the recent past and from a longer perspective.
An understanding of these forces can help us assess how much further these trends are likely to continue. https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2019/sp-dg-2019-11-26.html  2/21  11/26/2019  Employment and Wages | Speeches | RBA  Graph 1  Female participation Female employment growth has accounted for two-thirds of employment growth over the past year.