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05 February Shrinking of the Younger Population (...next...)

If you are analytical and like looking at numbers (sounds like me) then this link to the department of labor statistics will be of interest to you.

Recently I viewed this data and noted that the fastest growing segment of the US workforce was those aged 65 and over!

Drucker's assertion is that the workforce of the future will be impacted by the following:

More older people in the workforce

More immigrants in the workforce

Fewer young people in the workforce

...and my assertion is that just like previous generations...

The older people will be different from the older people that preceded them.

The immigrants will be different from the immigrants that preceded them.

The younger people will be different from the younger people that preceded them.

Does this have an impact to training?

Will older workers receive age-relevant training?

Will older workers be embarking on new careers?

What will the impact be to the generation(s) of workers that were expecting older workers to make way for them and at the same time are being pushed by younger workers that have stronger technology skills?

What will leaders need to understand and demonstrate in order to lead three generations, immigrants and older workers that are not thinking about retirement?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David B Gates on February 7, 2011 at 8:45am

Paul, I have some thoughts I need to compose,,, then follow-up...

Permalink Reply by Paul Terlemezian on February 5, 2016 at 4:43pm

So maybe it's four generations in the workforce? A part time job at 16 and your parent is 38 while their parent is 60 and the 82 year old great-grandparent has a lively consulting practice.

I read recently some interesting statistics about birth rates and age of the mother. Here is the article and some excerpts:

Age of first-time moms

In 1970 the average age of a first-time mother was 21.4. In 2013 the average age was 26.

Number of births by age

Here's how the numbers played out among U.S. women in 2013 compared to 2012.

Age 15 to 19: The number of births fell 11 percent.
Age 20 to 24: The number of births fell 2 percent.
Age 25 to 29: The number of births declined slightly (less than 1 percent).
Age 30 to 34: The number of births increased 2 percent.
Age 35 to 39: The number of births increased 2 percent.
Age 40 to 44: The number of births was essentially unchanged.
Age 45 and over: The number of births increased 14 percent.

It appears that young adults are waiting longer to have the first child. If there is a 26 year or more gap in generations then the four generation example I applied earlier would look like 16, 42, 68, 94.

What hypotheses are worth considering from this analysis?

How will life expectancy change? What will be the implications of this to your hypotheses?