Career Watch: A new perspective on older workers

21.03.2011

An example from my practice is a start-up business that is looking for a vice president of sales and is seriously looking at an experienced candidate whose age is around 60 and who has industry contacts, knows the distribution channels and can build a high-performing team quickly. The client's interest in the more experienced candidate is to get revenue, new customers and a team quickly.

Source: The Employee Benefit Research Institute's analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's data on labor-force participation

The percentage of Americans age 55 or older who are in the labor force has been on the rise since 1993 and in 2010 exceeded the percentage recorded in 1975. For older workers who haven't reached retirement age, the higher rate of labor participation can be attributed to an increase the number of women in the workforce. But the percentages of both men and women in the workforce who are 65 or older has grown. Education level has a strong correlation with a higher labor-participation rate.