A growing segment of the U.S. workforce -- older workers -- face challenges such as a greater chance of being unemployed for a longer period of time than younger workers and skill obsolescence in contemporary societies. In an age of fast-paced economic and technological change, ongoing investment in human capital in the form of skill training…

A growing segment of the U.S. workforce--older workers--face challenges such as a greater chance of being unemployed for a longer period of time than younger workers and skill obsolescence in contemporary societies. In an age of fast-paced economic and technological change, ongoing investment in human capital in the form of skill training…

This article provides an overview of emerging trends in retirement, examines demographic trends in the labor force, and provides practical recommendations for working with older workers across cultures (e.g., women and racial/ethnic minorities, and among others). Increasingly, older workers in the United States remain in the workforce for reasons…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues around a multiple generational workforce and more specifically, the challenges and benefits for education providers and employers. Design/methodology/approach: Reviewing research papers, analysing academic texts, interrogating market intelligence and contextualising case studies, the…

Older workers are the fastest growing segment of the labor force, yet little is known about designing jobs for older workers that optimize their experiences relative to aging successfully. This study examined the contribution of workplace job design (opportunities for decision-making, skill variety, coworker support, supervisor support) to…

Women age 45 and over make up 40 percent of the older labor force. Their employment-related experience is different and disadvantaged compared to older men. Specific differences which are examined include occupational distribution, earnings, unemployment, poverty, retirement income, and labor force participation rates. (Author/ABL)

The purpose of this article is to provide employment counselors an overview of the growth in the number of older workers in the U.S. Various demographic, employment, and career development trends are presented. Specific suggestions for counseling older workers are offered. Readers are directed to a number of high-quality online resources for older…

The Retirement Research Foundation of Chicago supported a collaborative to collect demographic data about working and aging, conduct a survey of older job seekers, and interview businesses in the region to assess their awareness and attitudes about mature workers. The 2005 project was titled the 60 + Success Project. A regional task force oversaw…

Purpose: This article investigates how older Americans leave their career jobs and estimates the extent of intermediate labor force activity (bridge jobs) between full-time work on a career job and complete labor-force withdrawal. Design and Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we explored the work histories and retirement…

Focuses on older men who continue to work after sixty. Examines major factors that contribute to the older worker's decision to remain on the job and how these factors reflect employment characteristics. Emphasizes reasons for industry and occupational employment patterns of older workers. (CSS)

A study examined the perceptions, policies, and practices vis-a-vis older workers in American business today. The study population consisted of executives with senior responsibility for making human resource decisions at 400 companies. The companies were selected randomly, with 100 each belonging to one of four size groupings ranging from 50 to…

Labor force participation rates for the years 1967 and 1987 indicate a significant trend toward early retirement by men (beginning in their fifties). Women in their fifties, on the other hand, have increased their labor force participation rate. By the age of 60, however, their labor force participation rates also decline sharply. Although this…

This paper presents a decision-process model for explaining the growth in transfer recipiency (the receipt by working age people of disability income), the choice of work status, and the reduction in labor force participation of older workers. It is hypothesized that the attractiveness of disability income transfer options has led older male…

With most data taken from 1970 or 1971 averages, this report presents a picture of the positive and negative aspects of the older worker's position on the labor market. The report, prepared for the White House Conference on Aging, shows that the participation rates of men are continuing to decline while the rates of women increase, that…

This article argues that in the upcoming decades, older workers will be competing against the largest cohort of middle-aged workers in our country's history. In the absence of other options, the elderly may feel increased pressure to retire or work part time. (Author/SSH)