Many older adults continue to work out of economic necessity. Barriers to older workers that have been in the workplace will need to be diminished as shifts in workforce demographics take place.
Businesses are realizing there exists a large untapped resource in the employee applicant pool and those prospects are older workers. And, with an increased number of older adults remaining in the workforce, trends toward early retirement are beginning to reverse. Many older adults continue to work out of economic necessity. Barriers to older workers that have been in the workplace will need to be diminished as shifts in workforce demographics take place.
Older workers with high education or technical skills will probably continue to be in demand as long as they maintain or upgrade their skills as appropriate. But those without higher education may find it increasingly difficult to compete in the labor market and may turn to public employment and training programs for assistance.
Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging offers two Employment Services Programs for individuals age 55 and older interested in reentering the workforce:
(1) The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides short-term work experience for income eligible persons age 55 and older. The program's objective is to help seniors find permanent employment by upgrading old skills and/or learning new ones. SCSEP matches skills, background and interests with job openings at businesses and agencies. See: Earn While You Learn
(2) The Job Referral File is a service provided for job seekers age 60 and older and looking for a job. A referral information file is kept on those seeking full or part time employment. When an employer calls looking for an experienced and qualified applicant for a job openings, participants from the Job Referral File are matched with the job's requirements and an interview is arranged.
Attention Employers
If you have job openings that require an employee who is willing to work, can work well without close supervision, exhibits maturity in problem-solving and decision-making, please contact our Senior Employment Services Program (804-343-3000) to list your job vacancies.
BABY BOOMERS AND THE WORKFORCE
As the baby boomers have affected the age structure of the population overall, they have also increased the size of the labor force, and as they have aged, have raised the average age of those in the workforce. The average age of the workforce will continue to rise at least until 2020. The increase in older workers will, of course, vary by state but estimates indicate that parts of the South and West may experience at least a 25 percent increase in the number of older workers in the coming decade.
- The baby boom generation consists of persons born between 1946 and 1964.
- The 77 million baby boomers represent about 37% of the nation's total population 16 years of age and older. They will continue to represent a significant portion of the population until at least 2025 when there will be 65 million, ranging in age from 61-79, and will still make up 25% of the population 16 and older.
The aging of the baby boom generation as a whole will naturally increase the number of older workers in the labor market. It will also likely increase the need for employment-related services to those older workers who are relatively less advantaged. The U.S. economy increasingly rewards high levels of education. The baby boom generation is likely to continue to experience more work disruptions and transistions than previous groups of maturing workers because the nature of the labor market has changed dramatically during their working years.