AARP Hearing Center
If you think older workers are sitting around twiddling their thumbs, hesitant to contact employers in a tightening labor market, you'd be wrong. In February, the unemployment rate for those 55 and older was 3.2 percent — nearly a full point lower than the overall 4.1 percent rate for the entire U.S. population and drastically lower than the 14.4 percent rate for teens.
Indeed, the groups of workers 65 to 74 and 75 and older are predicted to grow faster than any other age segments through 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
With more people eager to work well into their golden years, companies are taking action to lure mature job seekers with a variety of innovative programs. One such initiative is the Goldman Sachs Returnship program, which makes a pool of talented mature workers available to the company. According to CNBC, the program provides 10 weeks of training and mentoring for those who have taken a career break of longer than two years. Of the 350 people who have completed the program, about half have found permanent employment at Goldman Sachs.
Another program from Encore offers a six-month to one-year fellowship for those 50 and older to work at a nonprofit for a salary of $20,000 to $25,000. Already more than 1,600 fellowships have been awarded, including 957 in 2016 and 2017.
Still another employer, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, regularly recruits from an organization called Operation A.B.L.E., which provides employment opportunities for job seekers 45 and older.
CNBC also cited FCCI, a Sarasota, Florida-based company that provides insurance through independent agents. Some 34 percent of the company's workforce is 50 or older. Lisa Krouse, the chief HR officer, told CNBC that there's real merit in recruiting older workers. She said their seasoned perspective serves the company well when it comes to both evaluating risks and forging new relationships.
