Retirement to Work! Employers Need Retiree's Skills
As soon-to-be-retirees look to the future, many plan to continue to work well into their retirement years - if they can find work. While some of retirement age worry that jobs will not be available for them, employers will increasingly turn to retirees to fill the coming workforce gap, as retirees have what younger workers often do not: "networks of professional contacts, specific skill sets, and organizational knowledge."
Photo by thedccenter.
The workforce challenge being faced by employers is the projected mass attrition of their most experienced and seasoned employees. As baby boomers reach retirement age, they will depart "the work force at a rate of 4 million per year until 2024, this loss of seasoned workers will create an undertow in every sector." This departure is made more serious by the lack of skilled workers entering the workforce: "(A)ccording to a July 2008 Bureau of Labor and Statistics report, employment numbers for the 16 to 25 age group are projected to decline between the years 2006-2016, and among those 25 to 54, there will only be a slight rise. This smaller labor pool will not be able to replace the huge flood of departing older workers. Because 30 percent of boomers aged 57 to 61 have bachelor's degrees or higher, even more job shortages are predicted in fields requiring highly skilled professionals."
What does this mean for retirees? Jobs! According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, "employment of mature workers 55 to 64 is expected to climb by 36.5 percent (between 2006-2016). For those 65 and older, the employment numbers will soar by 80 percent. According to AARP's Public Policy Institute, "…workers aged 55 and over will account for more than 90 percent of projected labor force growth over the next decade. The number of employed men and women aged 55 and older grew by nearly 2.3 million, or 9.7 percent between 2005 and 2007."
With Knoxville considered a Best Place to Retire and the region's concentration of professional and skilled job opportunities, retirees are likely to do well in East Tennessee. For more information, please contact us here.
