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France seeks more home-care workers as elderly numbers rise

The French governement has launched a campaign to boost recruitment to home help for the elderly, predicting that there will be 300,000 extra jobs in the "silver economy" by 2030.

An elderly person enjoys a virtual reality bike ride in Laval, France
An elderly person enjoys a virtual reality bike ride in Laval, France Getty
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With more than 15 million people over the age of 60 in France today, there are an increasing number of home-care jobs but the sector has difficulty recruiting because it suffers from image problems.

The government on Wednesday launched an information campaign to promote jobs such as home help, meal delivery and day and night care, involving explanatory leaflets, visuals, infographics, postings on social networks and emails.

"Sometimes suffering from an unfavourable image, these jobs are nonetheless essential for helping each other in our daily life and taking account of the needs and choices of the most vulnerable among us," said junior minister Pascale Boistard.

Some 300,000 more jobs will be created in the sector due to an ageing population, she said in a statement.

In 2030 there are expected to be 20 million over-60s and nearly 24 million by 2060.

The number of people over the age of 85 is likely to increase from one million today to five million by 2060.

About 500,000 people work with the elderly today, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, 98 percent of them women, with an average age of 45 and 70 percent working part-time.

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