Indiana Chamber Foundation: Act Now to Address Workforce, Seniors' Impact
"A new report released [December 17, 2009] sounds the alarm for [Indiana] businesses dependent on Baby Boomers and their experience. While many nearing retirement are currently staying in the workforce longer to make up for lost savings amid the economic downturn, that trend will not last forever. This will leave employers - sooner rather than later - with a loss of institutional knowledge and expertise. Critically, some of the professions to be the hardest hit are the ones in which a shortage of qualified workers already exists."
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"To put the situation into numbers, of the state's typical working age population (ages 18 to 64), two in five - about 1.6 million workers - will be steadily moving into retirement over the next 20 years."
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"The professions that will most feel the effects: education/training and library, community and social services, computer and mathematical science, legal, architecture and engineering, as well as office and/or administrative support."
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"Unfortunately, many Indiana businesses and communities simply are not prepared for this inevitability. The report advises employers to work toward more flexible employment models that preserve talent and offer the opportunity for knowledge to be transferred to others."
Read the entire article here:
Report: Act Now to Address Workforce, Seniors' Impact (Indiana Chamber Foundation)
Report highlights related to retirements:
- Studies show that three major demographic trends jeopardize the American workforce: low literacy levels, aging and retirement of baby boomers, and the increasing number of individuals who speak little or no English.
- A major demographic shift is underway: the aging of boomers and thus the aging of the workforce.
The impact is imminent and will be widespread. - Some industries and occupations will be impacted more than others by the aging workforce.
- Employers have not prepared sufficiently for the aging and retirement of boomers. It’s not too late;
resources and best practices are available. - 1,656,387 [of Indiana's] 45 to 64 year olds will be aging into retirement over the next 20 years.
- Over the next 35 years, the 65-plus population will account for 63% of the growth in Indiana’s population. The Indiana population 65 and over will double, from 753,000 in 2000 to 1.48 million in 2040. By 2035, adults 65 and above will outnumber children under the age of 15. In 2000, one of eight Hoosiers was over 65. By 2040, that number will be one of five.
- The 50 and older population from 2000-2050 will grow at a rate 68 times faster than the rate of growth for the total population.
View the complete report:
Aging Implications: A Wake-up Call (Workforce Wise Study)
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