It is not easy to maintain the pace of economic growth when the working-age population, of those aged between 15 and 64, is decreasing at a rate of nearly 1 percent a year. Under such circumstances, society's key task is to bring those members of the elderly and female population who are willing to work into the workforce.
Firms, as a move toward solving the problem, have been diversifying their employment patterns. As a result of such efforts, labor force participation rates among the females and the elderly are increasing and the total number of employees is growing at around 1 percent a year despite the diminishing working-age population.