Jobs News for Seniors

Jobs News for Seniors

Many of the concerns of seniors in America have grown into concerns for the entire country. Healthcare continues to be a major cause for debate in Washington. While the focus might not be entirely on the future of Medigap and Medicare Supplement insurance, those senior issues remain a major part of the political discussion. Another concern facing seniors (and the rest of the nation) is jobs. Jobs feature heavily in the current Republican campaigns and jobs will surely serve as a major focus for the upcoming presidential election.

Approaching jobs from the senior perspective proves to be a story with two very different sides. On one side, there are a number of seniors and Baby Boomers who are quickly approaching senior status that have found themselves out of work before they were ready to start working.

A number of websites and programs dedicate themselves to helping seniors find jobs. These range from high-end executive positions to “retirement jobs” that tend to be part-time and somewhat detached from the corporate world. There are also a number of sites focused on volunteer work for seniors. In many cases, this gives retired seniors the chance to help others and to take part in work that they truly enjoy.

If you are a Baby Boomer in search of work on any level, it’s a good idea to take a look at sites like Senior Job Bank, Work Force 50, and the US Government’s Seniors Job page to find employment opportunities and job tips designed specifically for seniors.

Seniors’ Effect on the Current Job MarketWhile there are a number of seniors and other Baby Boomers in search of work, there are also a large number of older Americans who currently have work and have no intention of leaving the job any time soon:

“Reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in 2011, there were more people 55 and older active in the workforce than any time in the past 30 years…But when Boomers in the workforce are asked about their intentions, 41 percent responded that they did not want to quit working.” (from Why Boomers are staying in the workforce longer)

Many believe that seniors staying on after retirement age and the sheer population of Baby Boomers in America has made it more difficult for younger Americans to find work right out of school and for those in the “Gen X” age range to move up the corporate ladder as quickly as some of the previous generation.

However, those on the other side of the argument believe that the sheer number of Boomers approaching retirement age has already begun to and will continue to affect jobs reports in this country, and that it will, in fact, lead to a range of job openings for younger Americans:

“It’s their exit from the labor force that could explain why the labor-force participation rate has fallen from 66% at the end of 2007 to near 63.9% today, a group of Barclays Capital economists argue in a new report.” (from Forbes)

As jobs continue to draw the focus of politicians and Americans across the country, seniors on both sides of retirement will continue to affect the job situation in the United States, and could very well be a major factor in shaping the economy into the future.