Occupational Career Types of Baby-Boomers and Their Effects on Employment Pattern Selection

In this article, individual data from the Survey on the Baby-Boomer Generation's Work and Life Vision conducted in October 2006 by the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training (JILPT) are used to perform a quantitative analysis on the effects of occupational career type on employment pattern choices among baby-boomers. The main conclusions are: first, an analysis of the effects on employment pattern choice before age sixty shows that specialists have a higher probability than generalists of working in part-time jobs or being self-employed; and second, an analysis of the effects on preferred employment patterns at age sixty-five shows that specialists are more likely than generalists to prefer self-employment. This analysis suggests that to promote the employment of seniors, it will be important to provide occupational retraining to generalists who are in middle age, which includes baby-boomers, and to respond to the occupational needs of specialists with specialized skills by providing a social environment that makes it easier for them to start their own businesses.