Entice ‘boomer workers’ to stay on the job

Over the past several weeks the media have been reporting on the rise in jobless claims due to the dislocations caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The resulting upward blip in the unemployment rate has led corporate recruiters as well as some job seekers to speculate that the job market is weakening.

However, the latest figures show that jobless claims are already returning to their pre-hurricane lows. In fact, barring a major economic cataclysm, all indications are that a key demographic trend is creating conditions in which there may be too few, not too many, workers available over the next few decades.

The 78 million baby boomers have made their presence felt at every stage of their lives. They crowded our kindergartens and grade schools in the 1950s and 1960s, overwhelmed college dorms and classrooms throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and then proceeded to supply American businesses with the largest and most educated group of employees in US history.

Now, the boomers might rock our society once again – this time with their absence – as they reach retirement age.

By Michael G. Zey

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1102/p09s02-coop.html?s=hns