The New England Council Releases Studies on New Hampshire's Aging Workforce
NASHUA, New Hampshire -- New England's aging workforce could stall economic development and job growth in the future, according to a report prepared by Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies. The report was released today as part of The New England Council's Older Worker Initiative. The numbers are significant in New Hampshire, which the report indicates has a larger and more rapidly growing share of the older population.
"As the baby boom generation enters retirement age, New England employers will become increasingly dependent on older workers - those aged 55 and above - to meet the demand for skilled workers. The ability to retain and recapture these older workers in the labor force will be critical to the long-term economic prosperity of the region," said James Brett, president and CEO, of The New England Council, the nation's oldest regional business organization.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is the lead company sponsoring this Initiative which is operating working group sessions around the region to develop strategies on this issue. James McCaffrey, Mercer's New England Market Leader and member of the Council's Board of Directors, is chairing the Initiative. He said the issue, at its core, will likely result in public policy changes to the nation's retirement system.
"We believe that New England is at a critical juncture. The aging population creates important challenges and significant opportunities for developing strategies to respond to these inevitable workforce changes. We need to develop specific proposals to encourage the active engagement of older workers in the employment market," McCaffrey said. "Retirement regulations - both on a state and federal level - often actually encourage workers to retire early and not return to the workforce. In New England, we could find a significant gap of available employees and skilled worker shortages that ultimately will hinder our ability to add jobs and grow."
Paul Harrington, Associate Director of Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies, said the findings in New Hampshire are significant.
"Despite New Hampshire's status as one of the states in the northeast which is still be to generate substantial net inflows of residents into the state from other states in the region and the nation, slow rates of natural increase in the population and still limited foreign immigration in New Hampshire mean a slower growing and aging population for the state," Harrington said. "These trends indicate the likelihood of a continued slowdown in the rate of growth in the size of the state's labor force in the coming years. An overwhelming share of New Hampshire's labor force growth in the future will be among those aged 55 and over."
Some of the report highlights:
- The state's median age is higher than that of the nation as whole. The state is projected to have a rapidly aging population and has experienced a low birth rate. In 2004, New Hampshire had the third lowest birth rate in the nation.
- During 2005, the estimated size of the 55 to 64-year old population was just over 147,600. By 2015, this number is expected to increase by 40 percent. Similarly, the resident population of those aged 65 or older will increase by about 38 percent in the same time period. Also, the projections note only a two percent growth in residents under 55 in this time period.
- From 2005 to 2015, about 90 percent of the net increase in the size of the New Hampshire resident working age population is forecast to be a among those aged 55 or above.
- At the same time, the share of persons in the working age population of teens and young adults will fall by two percent and that of older prime age workers (ages 35 to 54) will decline by six percent.
As part of this Initiative, business leaders will meet in Nashua this week to discuss a variety of issues including: pension policies that limit workers' ability to mix work and retirement income, workforce development programs that do not serve older workers, and the need for the workplace to accommodate an older workforce.
The Council plans to host meetings around the region in the coming months, examining the status of older workers in each state and engage public and private leaders in discussion of the issues.
The New England Council, founded in 1925, is an alliance of large and small companies, colleges and universities, nonprofit and other agencies, dedicated to promoting economic development and a high quality of life in the six-state region.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is a global leader for HR and related financial advice and services, with more than 15,000 employees serving clients in more than 190 cities and 40 countries and territories worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, Pacific and London stock exchanges.
Editors: For more information or a copy of the report, contact: Susan Asci, The New England Council, 617-723-4009, ext. 27, or sasci@newenglandcouncil.com.
Contacts
The New England Council
Susan Asci, 617-723-4009, ext. 27
sasci@newenglandcouncil.com
"As the baby boom generation enters retirement age, New England employers will become increasingly dependent on older workers - those aged 55 and above - to meet the demand for skilled workers. The ability to retain and recapture these older workers in the labor force will be critical to the long-term economic prosperity of the region," said James Brett, president and CEO, of The New England Council, the nation's oldest regional business organization.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is the lead company sponsoring this Initiative which is operating working group sessions around the region to develop strategies on this issue. James McCaffrey, Mercer's New England Market Leader and member of the Council's Board of Directors, is chairing the Initiative. He said the issue, at its core, will likely result in public policy changes to the nation's retirement system.
"We believe that New England is at a critical juncture. The aging population creates important challenges and significant opportunities for developing strategies to respond to these inevitable workforce changes. We need to develop specific proposals to encourage the active engagement of older workers in the employment market," McCaffrey said. "Retirement regulations - both on a state and federal level - often actually encourage workers to retire early and not return to the workforce. In New England, we could find a significant gap of available employees and skilled worker shortages that ultimately will hinder our ability to add jobs and grow."
Paul Harrington, Associate Director of Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies, said the findings in New Hampshire are significant.
"Despite New Hampshire's status as one of the states in the northeast which is still be to generate substantial net inflows of residents into the state from other states in the region and the nation, slow rates of natural increase in the population and still limited foreign immigration in New Hampshire mean a slower growing and aging population for the state," Harrington said. "These trends indicate the likelihood of a continued slowdown in the rate of growth in the size of the state's labor force in the coming years. An overwhelming share of New Hampshire's labor force growth in the future will be among those aged 55 and over."
Some of the report highlights:
- The state's median age is higher than that of the nation as whole. The state is projected to have a rapidly aging population and has experienced a low birth rate. In 2004, New Hampshire had the third lowest birth rate in the nation.
- During 2005, the estimated size of the 55 to 64-year old population was just over 147,600. By 2015, this number is expected to increase by 40 percent. Similarly, the resident population of those aged 65 or older will increase by about 38 percent in the same time period. Also, the projections note only a two percent growth in residents under 55 in this time period.
- From 2005 to 2015, about 90 percent of the net increase in the size of the New Hampshire resident working age population is forecast to be a among those aged 55 or above.
- At the same time, the share of persons in the working age population of teens and young adults will fall by two percent and that of older prime age workers (ages 35 to 54) will decline by six percent.
As part of this Initiative, business leaders will meet in Nashua this week to discuss a variety of issues including: pension policies that limit workers' ability to mix work and retirement income, workforce development programs that do not serve older workers, and the need for the workplace to accommodate an older workforce.
The Council plans to host meetings around the region in the coming months, examining the status of older workers in each state and engage public and private leaders in discussion of the issues.
The New England Council, founded in 1925, is an alliance of large and small companies, colleges and universities, nonprofit and other agencies, dedicated to promoting economic development and a high quality of life in the six-state region.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is a global leader for HR and related financial advice and services, with more than 15,000 employees serving clients in more than 190 cities and 40 countries and territories worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, Pacific and London stock exchanges.
Editors: For more information or a copy of the report, contact: Susan Asci, The New England Council, 617-723-4009, ext. 27, or sasci@newenglandcouncil.com.
Contacts
The New England Council
Susan Asci, 617-723-4009, ext. 27
sasci@newenglandcouncil.com
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.