Baby Boom
The baby boom generation is a demographic term for the population born between 1946 and 1964. Data from the 2000 U.S. Census estimates that the group that holds the “boomer” moniker is made up of at least 82,826,479 individuals. The members of this group range from 41 to 59 years old, which means this demographic behemoth, will start leaving the workforce in approximately six years. What will this exit mean to the business world? To answer this question, you need to look at major age shifts that alter the demographic landscape of the U.S. labour force
The American economy has benefited from strong growth of the 20-to-64 age group, historically considered the primary source of the labour force. However, starting around 2010, a demographic shift will begin, resulting in a large increase in the 65-and-over age group and a decline of the 20-to-64 age group
GRAPH – Change in workforce and retired age groups
The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) projects a labour force of 162.3 million individuals in 2012 and expects that the economy will require 165.3 million jobs to be filled.
Beyond the fact that these two numbers are not directly comparable, there are other variables at play that directly impact how organizations will be able to adapt to the changing demographic landscape. Some of the factors that organizations can control include retention of older workers, correcting gender imbalance in certain positions, the use of outsourcing and hiring newly arriving immigrants.
Several factors encourage older workers to stay in the workforce longer. The trend toward offering defined contribution pension plans that will pay out more the longer you work, instead of defined benefit plans, which pay out at a specific retirement age, is encouraging workers to stay in the workforce longer. Also, and most importantly, older Americans are healthier than ever before and are less likely to want to take a...
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