Welcome to Your New Job, Boomer!

Growing numbers of older adults are finding a nice surprise in the workplace: a "Welcome" sign.

The number of workers age 55 and up grew by 3.5 million from September 2009 to September 2012. That represents the lion's share of the gain of 4.2 million for all workers 16 and older, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Two factors help explain the trend.

First: demographics. In the three years ended in July, 86% of population growth among people ages 25 to 69 came in the 55 to 69 age range, says Richard Johnson, director of the program on retirement policy at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research group. That increase comes mostly from the baby boomers, who began turning 55 in 2001.

"There are many more Americans turning 55 in recent years than turning 25," Mr. Johnson says.

Second: changing attitudes. More employers are recognizing that older adults bring skills and experiences to the table that can help the bottom line.

For example, in the world of consulting, "it can be a plus to have experience," says Ms. Jackie Greaner, North American practice leader for talent management at Towers Watson. "There's not really a stigma about being older."

The same is true for other knowledge-worker jobs. For example, "the nuclear-power industry is an industry that is very hard to get people that are fully developed in terms of skill sets and capabilities," Ms. Greaner says. For employers, "it's very difficult to get that expertise."

Aon Hewitt's senior vice president for talent administration Ms. Erin Peterson says talented recruiters can be hard to find. "I find people who have a lot of life experience and professional experience make the best recruiters."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2012

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