Aging of the American Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, Challenges

1. Aging of the American Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, Challenges

2. 1. Why WIA/One-Stops Should Pay Attention to Older Workers 2. Why Employers Should be Concerned

3. It's A Demographic Revolution

4. IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS • The country is growing older, and the workforce along with it • As the baby boom reaches retirement age, there will be fewer young adults entering the workforce to replace them • These trends will have economic and productivity consequences, putting a strain on business/industry • Continuous work at some level (ft/pt) - increasingly important & desirable for older people and society as a whole

5. GROWING OLD IN AMERICA TODAY • Radically different than it was for previous generations • Today: healthier, better educated, more willing to work into the later years • Chronology = Competence To stay competitive as new sources of labor become scarce, employers must not overlook this talented and largely untapped employee base

6. The U.S. Workforce is Aging • Baby Boomers come of age • 30% of Americans are boomers (83 million) • By 2025 20% of Americans will be 65+ • By 2005: • median worker age 41 • workers 45+ will comprise 40% of the workforce • Workforce will continue to age through 2015 oldest boomers begin to retire

7. The Economy is Hot[or at least luke-warm] • Local labor markets extremely tight • 1998-2008: BLS projects 14% increase in employment • Pay scales driven higher; benefit packages increasing • Companies beginning to look to new sources of labor supply

8. RETIREMENT TRENDS • Growing indication the early retirement trend is leveling off • Growth in jobs/declining unemployment creates demand for all workers • Increasing popularity of bridge jobs (gradual retirement)

9. LOW-INCOME BOOMERS • 9 million boomers (today aged 35-54) did not graduate from high school • incomes 12% lower than for similarly educated persons in their parents’ generation • US will soon see an increase in the number of poor, aging adults • As the tail of the “bulge” reaches age 45, low-income mature workers will soon increase by 25% [from 8 to 10 million]

10. Florida (the retirement state) today: 18% of population 65+

11. U.S. in 2025: states with at least 18% of population 65+

12. ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES • Dependency ratio • 1950: 7 working age persons to 1 elderly person • 2030: ratio will dwindle to less than 3 to 1 • Increasing work participation rate of older Americans would: • add to the productivity of the workforce • alleviate strains on the US economy • increase private saving and reduce the burden on public resources through higher tax revenues

13. DEMAND FOR OLDER WORKERS • As workers retire, the economy loses valuable work experience • Improvement in work-readiness of young workers needed to meet ever-higher skill requirements of the economy cannot be taken as a given • Older workers are productive, reliable, trainable, with a high work ethic and customer service focus

14. NECESSITY OF LIFELONG LEARNING • Key factor to productivity (of all workers) is skill level and training • For most mature Americans there are few physical or cognitive barriers to work and learning new skills • Employers and workers must both work towards closing the technology training gap

15. Age & Income Affect Training Needs Common stereotypes portray older workers as: • Harder to train • Less able to keep up with technological change • Less promotable • Less motivated

16. Older Workers are not a Homogenous Lot Different needs … Different strategies • Dislocated workers • Women [displaced homemakers] • Low income

17. Training Implications • Training for older workers needs to be slowed down • Vision and hearing changes require attention • Older workers prefer less formal seating arrangements • Training proceeds better in comfortable classroom environments • Shorter sessions are more effective • The training class is best when kept small

18. Some Things to Remember • Older people perform better on self-paced tests than they do on timed tests • When both words and pictures (graphics) are used, older persons can retain 6 times more information • It’s much easier for older people to see yellow, orange & red than darker colors • Greater levels of illumination are needed (an average 60 yr. old’s eye admits only  as much light as a 20 yr. old)

19. The Training Process • Training focus should be on the gains of experience • Older workers learn what they think they need to learn • Trainees need help with self-confidence and self-esteem issues • Older trainees value non-verbal rather than verbal training

20. Adults learn by doing • The training process should be slowed down --- self paced learning works best • Training should have ample opportunities for practice • Testing should be used sparingly • Relate training to skills already possessed

21. Method Lecture Reading Audio Visual Demonstrations Discussions Practice (experiential) Average Retention Rate 5% 10% 20% 30% 50% 75% Adults Learn by Doing

22. Barriers to Labor Market Participation • Government policies and practices • Financial incentives to retire • Health care • Public/Private Employer policies and practices • Age stereotypes • Pensions • Training and retraining • Individual barriers • Rapid technological change (new occupations/skills)

23. Promising Program and Practices SCSEP (Title V of the OAA) is a viable One-Stop Partner to Meet Demographic Needs • 100,000 served, 35,000 placed annually • Outreach & recruitment • Counseling • Assessment, IDP development • Subsidized work experience & training • Job development & placement

24. STRATEGIES TO CONSIDER

25. Working Together to Meet GoalsAs a partner, SCSEP can ... • Provide training to One-Stop staff to prepare them to better serve older workers • Ensure specialized assistance is available for older workers to effectively utilize the One-Stops [staffing strategies] • Ensure One-Stops accommodate the special needs of older workers • Assist One-Stop job developers to include job opportunities for older workers

26. Ensure One-Stops have necessary linkages & partnerships to ensure availability of specialized training for older workers • System linkages to facilitate access to support services needed by older workers • Assist One-Stops with an outreach & recruitment plan that includes older workers and minority older workers • Assign project participants to serve as mentors to school-to-work and welfare-to-work participants • Provide employer linkages

27. An Older Worker Policy Makes Good Business & Political Sense Demographic and Economic Imperative: • Employers facing labor force drop-off due to retirements will have to adapt in some way Political Imperative: • Extending work lives may help reduce younger workers’ burden supporting retirees (Social Security & Medicare) The SCSEP as your partner can assist you in meeting the needs of older job seekers.

28. NEED FURTHER INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE?

29. OLDER WORKER PROGRAMMING RESOURCES DoL/ETA Technical Assistance Guides  Using the Workforce Investment Act to Serve Mature and Older Workers  One-Stop Training Curriculum for Older Worker Specialists  Different Needs, Different Strategies: A Manual for Training Low-Income Older Workers  An Employer’s Guide to Older Workers: How to Win Them Back and Convince Them to Stay SCSEP WEBSITE: www.wdsc.doleta.gov/seniors

30. OLDER WORKER PROGRAMMING RESOURCES To obtain (free) copies of Technical Assistance Guides, contact: David Richardson US Department of Labor, D/OWP 200 Constitution Ave., NW Rm N4644 Washington, DC 20010 • Phone: 202-693-3757 • Fax: 202-693-3818