The demographic projections presented in the report under varying scenarios of fertility and mortality suggest that population growth in the Pacific islands is expected to remain high in the near future. Melanesia in particular, which is characterised by high fertility rates, low formal sector employment, and very limited migration options, will generate the highest proportion of excess labour. For example, in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu where formal sector employment is already among the lowest in the region, the working-age populations are expected to increase by another 30 percent within the next decade. While some domestic employment opportunities will also be created, it would still leave nearly 90 percent of the populations of these countries outside the formal
sector. This has far-reaching repercussions domestically as well as for the wider Pacific Region. The flip side of this story is that there will be an increasingly larger pool of young people from which industrialised countries with labour shortages will be able to draw. Low and declining fertility rates, and the ageing of the 'baby boomers' in many industrialised countries are giving rise to concerns regarding a growing stock of dependants (young and old) relying on a shrinking work force. This coincidence of excess supply in some regions and excess demand in others creates the backdrop for potentially mutually beneficial movement of labour in the region.