Aging Workforce (formerly Recruitment Marketing News)

On hiatus

2009-04-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Break time!

We're taking a break from updating this blog to work on some other projects. In the meantime, we'll continue updating our Boomer & Better Marketing News blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Who's hiring?

2009-04-15T07:37:00.001-07:00

It's not all bad news. Here are some organizations that are currently hiring:

ACS (Affiliated Computer Services), Kentucky and North Carolina- 215 jobs in clerical, customer service, data entry, management in Kentucky (mostly the Lexington area) and 250 call center workers in Raleigh, NC to provide tech support for iPhone users. A few management positions are also available in Raleigh.

Federal prison, McDowell Co. WV - about 500 jobs in construction, service, security, healthcare, management positions

United Healthcare, Duluth, MN - 40 positions in claims processing

K-12 educators, Idaho Falls, ID - various positions, especially math, science, and special education

Liberty National, Atlanta, GA - more than 100 sales agents and sales managers

GMAC ResCap, Fort Washington, PA - more than 100 lending positions to handle refinancing, defaults/foreclosures, etc.

Allstate, Pittsburgh, PA - 24 agency owners (plus another 60 or so elsewhere in PA); note that as an agency owner, some capital is required ($50K)

TVS, Brevard Co., NC - 30 positions available for 2nd shift at this dairy manufacturing plant; positions are ideal for workers with disabilities or other barriers to employment

CBH Homes, Boise, ID - 20 sales positions; no experience required

Michelman & Robinson, Los Angeles, CA - associate-level attorneys; firm also has plans to grow in Bay area and recently opened a New York office. Note that the firm is receiving "a flood" of resumes.

Various Federal agencies, nationwide -- Federal, state, and local governments have received stimulus money and need to hire temp and permanent workers to spend it. Examples: Social Security Administration is recalling retired workers and needs to fill 2,400 positions; Army Corps of Engineers needs 930 engineers, architects and other workers.

Wal-Mart, Cashe Valley, UT -- 350 positions, of which 65% will be full time

Microsoft, Seattle, WA -- game engineers for a new Halo social and mobile platform

Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce, Surprise, AZ -- call center workers, especially older workers; positions are 32 hours per week

Dynasty Spas, Athens, TN -- this hot tub manufacturer will need to fill 75 positions over the next 1-2 months due to healthy sales overseas

Workplace modifications to prevent injuries to older workers

2009-04-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

EHS Today, a publication for environment, health, and safety professionals, blogged about a white paper by PMA Insurance Group that debunks the myth that an aging workforce is more injury prone and therefore less productive. However, injuries could be more severe, and the paper recommends measures to reduce risk.

I recently attended a presentation by AARP that also addressed this issue and how some organizations were reducing risk (and keeping workers happy and healthy). Some examples:

Baptist Health Services (Coral Gables, FL) -- uses hydraulic beds to help patients get in and out of bed and reduce lifting injuries to employees
International Trucking -- installed equipment that allows mechanics to work on vehicles with less bending, crawling, and kneeling on the ground
Pinnacol Assurance -- implemented an ergonomics program that reduced worker's comp costs by a third.

Federal brain drain

2009-04-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Nearly 60% of federal workers will be eligible for retirement in the next three years, according to a presentation given today by Deborah Russell, Director of Workforce Issues at AARP at the Aging is Good Business summit in North Carolina. Of course, not all of these federal workers will retire over the next three years, but they could, and that means the potential loss of a lot of skill and knowledge as these older workers leave the workforce.

The government isn't the only entity that's facing this problem. We're seeing similar problems in healthcare, nursing, education, engineering (average age 57), sciences, and among other highly skilled professionals. The current economic downturn may delay retirement for some of these workers, but they will eventually want to leave the workforce, and these organizations need to have measures in place to ensure that they can compete for the smaller pools of younger employees in the pipeline -- or that they can offer a workplace setting that entices older workers to stay longer (phased retirement, flexible work hours, benefits for part-timers, etc.). Some organizations are doing this (and doing it well). I'll blog more about them soon.

Nevada employers not ready to replace retiring workers

2009-04-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

An AARP survey of 600 employers in Nevada found that these employers may see a shortage in workers over the next five years due to retiring Boomers, and few are prepared for it.

Although the reports specifically focus on Nevada (in which more than 28% of the population is age 50+, and a third of whom are in the workforce), the recommendations for recruiting, retaining, and accommodating older workers are relevant to every organization (regardless of location) that wants to reduce turnover or is facing the possibility of shortages due to looming Boomer retirement.

The Nevada employers' top desired employee characteristics were almost identical to the top characteristics in older workers, such as job commitment, reliability, and customer service skills. Seems like a good match, doesn't it?

Near-poor older job seekers falling through the cracks

2009-04-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

I attended an interesting meeting today of the Aging Workforce Interest Group at the NC Institute on Aging, where we learned how Federal Recovery Package funds have been allocated to programs across North Carolina to stimulate jobs, and specifically what this meant for older residents in the job market. (North Carolina ranks fourth in the nation for unemployment, and the percentage of workers age 65+ in this state is expected to increase by more than 80% over the next decade ... a double whammy.)

The good news is that federal funds have been disbursed and plans are in place to create job growth, including jobs that will be appealing to older workers.

The bad news is that there's a segment of older workers that are falling through the cracks. These are older citizens that left the workforce a while ago and retired on moderate incomes, but due to diminishing savings or increased expenses, they need to return to work to make ends meet. Having been out of the workforce for a while, their skills may be a bit out of date, making them less competitive for available jobs. Unfortunately, they don't qualify for federally funded training programs because they're just above the poverty level. Too poor to retire. Too rich for free job training.

Data released on California's aging workforce

2009-04-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

After declining during the 1980s and 1990s, the share of older workers in California has risen this decade, even during the economic downturn, according to the California Budget Project. The growth among women is particularly strong. Reasons cited include better health, long life expectancy, a declining share of physically demanding jobs, changes to Social Security, reductions in job-based pensions and retiree health coverage, and recent declines in investment and home values. The full report (PDF) is available from the California Budget Project.

NASA focuses on rebalancing aging workforce

2009-04-03T05:05:00.000-07:00

NASA has a reputation for hiring highly experienced workers while enjoying a very low turnover. Sounds good, doesn't it? The problem is the agency now faces an aging workforce with 30% eligible for retirement now and many more right on their heels. The average age of NASA employees is 47, and only 19% of new hires have been in their 20s. Although the current economy may help NASA retain its workforce longer than anticipated, the agency knows that things need to change. According to the Open NASA blog, the agency has instituted new initiatives to help balance the age gap. For instance, it now has a goal that half of its new hires will be recent grads, and it will be adding more incentive and mentoring programs targeting younger employees. Will the U.S. have enough sci-tech graduates to fill these jobs, though?

Who's Tweeting on the aging workforce?

2009-04-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

A tool called Twist allows you to monitor trends on Twitter and identify others who are Tweeting about your interests. For instance, I did a search on "aging workforce" and found that there was a bit of a spike a few weeks ago on the topic. Twist showed me a sampling of some of the Tweets from the past few weeks, which led me to other Twitter users that I may want to follow. These Tweets led me to a white paper and an article about how BMW is preparing for an aging workforce -- things that I definitely want to read. I also found some other interesting information by changing my keywords around a bit (older workers, aging workers, older workforce, older employees, etc.).

You could also use the tool to monitor Tweets about your company and its competitors.

Two aging workforce events in NC next week

2009-03-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

I'll be attending two aging workforce events in NC next week. The first is a meeting on April 7th of the Aging Workforce interest group at the NC Institute on Aging. The second is April 8th at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Its Gerontology program is hosting a day-long summit called Aging is Good Business: The Silvering Workforce. Speakers include representatives from AARP, Boston College's Center on Aging and Work, and others. Topics will include talent management in an economic downturn, cognitive fitness and the mature workforce, and others. What I'm most looking forward to is the presentation on Boston College's findings from its recent age & generations study, which will include older workers' perceptions of quality employment.

You can register for either of these events at the links in this post. Be sure to find me and say hi. I'm looking forward to learning lots from these two sessions and blogging about them.

Workshops on aging workforce

2009-03-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of some upcoming workshops, seminars, webinars, and conferences about the aging workforce. If your organization will be hosting an event on the aging workforce, contact us with the details and we may promote it in an upcoming post.

Seminar on recruiting and retaining older workers
Sturgeon Bay, WI
April 2nd, 7:30 a.m.
Sponsor: Door County Economic Development Corp.'s Workforce Taskforce
Cost: Free

Aging Workforce Interest Group
Chapel Hill, NC
April 7th, 1:00 p.m.
Topic: This month's meeting's topic is An Update on Workforce Development in NC
Sponsor: UNC Institute on Aging
Cost: Free

Living Longer - Working Later: Planning for Mid to Late Careers
San Diego, CA
March 25th, 5:00 p.m.
This is one of several workshops being offered at an event called Career Night: Your Future in Science, Technology and Business
Sponsor: UC San Diego Extension
Cost: Free

Bridging the Gap Between Generations
Pierre, SD
This is one of the keynote presentations at the South Dakota SHRM state conference.
Sponsor: South Dakota SHRM
Cost: TBD

The Aging Workforce - Compensation and Benefit Programs to Support Phased Retirement and Knowledge Transfer
Anywhere (webinar)
April 30th, 2:30 p.m. Eastern
If you can't attend the webinar, you can purchase the audio afterward.
Sponsor: Electric Utility Consultants, Inc.
Cost: $295

Retaining and Engaging the Older Worker
Manchester, NH
May 12th
This is one of the keynotes at a full conference.
Sponsor: Granite State Human Resources Conference
Cost: $195 before April 15th, then $225

Engaging a Multigenerational Workforce: the Why and the How
New Orleans, LA
June 28th-July 1st
This is one of the concurrent sessions at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo.
Sponsor: SHRM
Cost: varies

Managing a Multi-Generational Workforce
Anywhere (webinar)
Download the slides from the two presenters at this earlier webinar.
Sponsor: National Council on Aging and MaturityWorks
Cost: Free

Working Longer: New Strategies for Managing, Training and Recruiting Older Employees
Anywhere (webinar)
Download the Powerpoint presentation offered at this earlier webinar.
Sponsor: National Council on Aging
Cost: Free

Quick stats on aging workforce

2009-03-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

A few quick stats for Monday:

The older workforce (65+) is projected to increase by over 83% between 2006-2016, far more than any other age group.

The majority of older workers are employed full time.

Just under half of older women in the workforce are widowed, separated, or divorced, but this percentage has been declining consistently since the 1970s as more older married women join the workforce.

Today's older workforce is better educated than the older workforce only a decade ago.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Profile of the oldest workers

2009-03-09T06:54:00.001-07:00

Researchers and the media do a good job of covering older workers and job seekers, but rarely do any of them cover the unique challenges of our very oldest workers -- those in their 70s and 80s who are in the workforce primarily due to financial need. This Wall Street Journal article does a great job covering these job seekers who find themselves suddenly in the job market again.

5.6% unemployment rate for age 55+

2009-03-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

Friday's unemployment figures were worse than analysts feared, but looking at the breakdown by age, older workers continue to fare much better than younger workers.

Overall, the unemployment rate for February 2009 was 8.1%. For the 55+ workforce, the unemployment rate was only 5.6%. Still, that's a sharp increase from 3.2% just a year ago.

Younger workers continue to face the highest unemployment rate ... over 20% for teens, and near 13% for young adults age 20-25.

We're changing our focus to aging workforce

2009-03-06T03:38:00.001-08:00

We've decided to narrow the topic of this blog to the aging workforce.

There are lots of excellent blogs about recruitment (check out our blogroll for some recommendations), so we wanted to focus on a niche within recruitment. Our research and marketing specialties have always centered on the recruitment industry and the mature market industry, so naturally we've always been interested in the aging workforce -- a blend of our two specialties.

We also believe this is a topic that employers need to take seriously. A 2007 AARP survey of workers age 45-74 found that 70% planned to stay in the workforce beyond traditional retirement age. How will this affect employers? How have the economic changes since 2007 affected these plans? How is recruitment and retention of the older workforce different than the younger workforce? These are some of the issues we'll tackle in this blog.

Thanks for reading, and let us know if you have any topics you'd like to see discussed.

New nursing salary survey released

2009-03-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

ADVANCE just released its annual salary survey, but the editorial that accompanies it is just as valuable, providing insight on how the recession, nursing shortage, and specialization will impact salary increases. The article is based on interviews from HR directors at hospitals throughout the country, including the Tampa area, Washington, Houston, Charleston SC, Joliet IL, Philadelphia, Reno, and Southern California. Check these out to see what challenges they're facing and trends they're seeing, especially if you're recruiting in these local areas (perhaps pick up a little competitive intelligence).

Not surprisingly, the majority of nurses earning over $65,000 were certified in a specialty, and at least one HR director interviewed stated that critical care should remain one of the hottest specialties. Based on the mailing list requests I've received from clients, I'd bet that emergency nursing also tops the in-demand list, and this shouldn't change in 2009 as emergency departments face overcrowding by financially strapped and uninsured Americans that can't pay other providers.

Nielsen: Job seekers 65+ use of job websites up 41%

2009-03-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Unique visitors to online job boards increased 20% over the past year, according to Nielsen, but the biggest increase was among seniors. Marketing Charts has more on the Nielsen stats.

CareerXRoads March update touches on Twitter, aging workforce

2009-02-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

Be sure to check out the March update from CareerXroads, which updates not only its 2008 sources of hire report but also discusses social networking, a careless Twitter recruitment mistake, use of Twitter for sourcing, and the age 55+ workforce.

New grad hiring and salaries flat in 2009

2009-02-26T16:20:00.000-08:00

Recruitment of new grads is expected to remain flat in 2009 compared to 2008, and salaries offered to these new hires are not expected to increase significantly this year.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the average salary offered to recent bachelor's degree recipients is $49,353, about the same as last year. Even salaries for the most in-demand graduates, such as accounting and engineering, were expected to remain flat or increase only slightly. NACE expects to release more data on new grad recruitment activities in March.

UK: financial professionals targeted for teaching jobs

2009-02-25T05:01:00.000-08:00

Bloomberg reports that a United Kingdom employment agency is vigorously recruiting laid off financial professionals for teaching positions in math. Many of these professionals are former employees of the now-defunct Lehman Brothers. In September, one recruitment fair attracted 1,000 prospects, well over the 80 prospects that normally attend this event.

Retention of new nurses

2009-02-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

Check out this Associated Pre ss article on how some hospitals are revamping their nurse residency programs to decrease turnover of newly licensed nurses. One Miami-area hospital says its training program has decreased turnover from 22% to 10%.

Job seekers turning to hospitality industry

2009-02-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

The hospitality industry is enjoying an influx in applicants, according to several articles appearing recently in the media.

My local newspaper ran a short piece this morning in which two local restaurant owners said they've seen the number of job applicants "skyrocket" over the past year, including an increasing number with teaching degrees, master's degrees, or considerable experience outside the food service industry. A newpaper ad might result in 100 applicantions, according to one restaurant owner, but applicants are seeking work even when the restaurants aren't advertising. Last Wednesday, one of the owners turned away six applicants. The Dallas Morning News recently had an article on this same topic.

Even the fast food industry, which always seems to have job openings, has been turning away applicants. One Wendy's restaurant in North Carolina hasn't had a job opening in eight months but has 200 applications on file and gets 35 calls per week from job seekers.

In a separate article, my local paper also covered the increase in enrollment at a local bartender school. Current students include an interior designer, recent sports management college graduate, a GNC store manager, and a homemaker whose husband is out of work. The Boston Globe also recently ran a piece on increased enrollment at bartending schools and culinary arts institutes.

Fewer workers quitting jobs; December saw lowest quit rate in five years

2009-02-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the quit rate in December 2008 was 1.5%, a low not seen since 2003.

The quit rate indicates workers' confidence in finding another job. Over the past couple of years the U.S. has seen a moderate downward trend in quit rates, but the rate really took a dive in November and December.

So the good news is that employers are having an easier time holding on to workers. Unfortunately, not all employers need or can afford these workers right now.

Quit rates were highest in hospitality (about 3%) and retail (about 2.3%) and lowest in government and manufacturing (below 1% for each).

Nursing shortage easing slightly but demand still high

2009-02-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

Nurse.com posted an interesting article on its site today about how the recession has affected the nursing shortage. According to Peter Buerhaus (RN, PhD, distinguished professor of nursing, and expert on the healthcare workforce), the U.S. nursing shortage has shrunk by about half compared to just a few years ago.

The shrinkage is due in part to some organizations implementing hiring freezes but also due to more nurses coming out of retirement or increasing their hours to help their families make ends meet, especially when a spouse or partner has lost a job.

Buerhaus is confident that the nursing shortage is far from over, though. This shortage dip is probably nothing more than a mere blip, really.

The article addresses other factors that will affect employment for nurses (such as proposed healthcare reform and the aging population) and what skills and education will be in demand for nurses in the future (such as disaster management, research, and advanced degrees).

Online job search sites see a big jump in unique visitors -- with a couple of exceptions

2009-02-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

According to comScore Media Matrix, online job search sites saw a 51% jump in unique visitors in December 2008 compared to a year earlier. Yahoo! HotJobs, Simply Hired, Jobster, and CareerBuilder enjoyed the biggest gains, but former industry leader Monster saw a 9% drop.

CareerBuilder, Yahoo! HotJobs, and Indeed topped the list for number of unique visits in December 2008.