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Older workers emerging as hot commodities
Published: April 19, 2007
Older workers, those age 55 and up, are doing a lot more these days than greeting shoppers at Wal-Mart or serving Big Macs at McDonald's.
They're becoming integral parts of the work force at health care, telecommunications, financial services and other companies. That's because smart executives looking to the future understand that there is a labor shortage on the way in the country. The only way to get the work done, and keep their companies growing, is to find ways to employ those who have retired or want a second career.
Nationally, in five years, nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. work force will be age 55 or older, up from just under 13 percent in 2000, according to forecasts by AARP.
More older people, some already retired, want to go back into the labor pool and do jobs that are different from what they did in their earlier careers.
The AARP national survey found 69 percent of individuals between the ages of 45 and 74 who are either working or looking for work plan to work in some capacity during their retirement. Also, 68 percent of workers between the ages of 50 and 70 who have not yet retired reported that they plan to work in some capacity into their retirement years or never retire.
The biggest reason is they need the money.
"Financial security is the main reason so many older people plan to stay in the work force," Edwin Refern Jr., AARP's national program consultant on the older worker, said last week.
"Boomers don't have enough money to retire," he said.
He added that as the labor supply dwindles, there would be competition among employers for talented older workers - something the more forward-looking executives are already thinking about.
Brandon Melton, senior vice president of human resources at Lifespan, a Rhode Island-based hospital network, said it has done a labor supply forecast from 2007 to 2025 and projected huge shortages, some of 25 to 30 percent, in nursing, diagnostic imaging and management. He explained that baby boomers will be leaving the work force just as the demand for health care services continues to increase, requiring more workers.
He said the hospital is working with job trainers, colleges and others to train workers with health care skills. He also recognized that Lifespan may have to amend its work rules to add flexible hours to attract older workers.
They're becoming integral parts of the work force at health care, telecommunications, financial services and other companies. That's because smart executives looking to the future understand that there is a labor shortage on the way in the country. The only way to get the work done, and keep their companies growing, is to find ways to employ those who have retired or want a second career.
Nationally, in five years, nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. work force will be age 55 or older, up from just under 13 percent in 2000, according to forecasts by AARP.
More older people, some already retired, want to go back into the labor pool and do jobs that are different from what they did in their earlier careers.
The AARP national survey found 69 percent of individuals between the ages of 45 and 74 who are either working or looking for work plan to work in some capacity during their retirement. Also, 68 percent of workers between the ages of 50 and 70 who have not yet retired reported that they plan to work in some capacity into their retirement years or never retire.
The biggest reason is they need the money.
"Financial security is the main reason so many older people plan to stay in the work force," Edwin Refern Jr., AARP's national program consultant on the older worker, said last week.
"Boomers don't have enough money to retire," he said.
He added that as the labor supply dwindles, there would be competition among employers for talented older workers - something the more forward-looking executives are already thinking about.
Brandon Melton, senior vice president of human resources at Lifespan, a Rhode Island-based hospital network, said it has done a labor supply forecast from 2007 to 2025 and projected huge shortages, some of 25 to 30 percent, in nursing, diagnostic imaging and management. He explained that baby boomers will be leaving the work force just as the demand for health care services continues to increase, requiring more workers.
He said the hospital is working with job trainers, colleges and others to train workers with health care skills. He also recognized that Lifespan may have to amend its work rules to add flexible hours to attract older workers.
"We see a flat labor supply to 2010 and then a decline," he said.
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John Kostrzewa writes for the Providence Journal.
