Is the world running out of workers?

The world's supply of workers may be depleting, according to an expert on economics.

It seems unthinkable, but the dual effects of decreasing birth rates and increased life span may have led to that a demographic ‘sweet spot’ that has now passed.  

In 1990, there were 685 million people of working age. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and China’s entrance into the global market, 820 million more workers entered the market pretty much instantaneously.

Professor Charles Goodhart works at the London School of Economics and is a former official at the Bank of England. Speaking at a forum held by Lombard Street Research, he said: "It was the biggest 'positive labour shock' the world has ever seen. It is what led to 25 years of wage stagnation.”