Boomers Can Make The Pieces Fit

The economic outlook offers a skewed puzzle of confusing jobless figures and fleeting glimpses of the future: multi-tasking, more training and varied skills. For Baby Boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964, it means a dizzying array of choices and challenges.

The jobs crisis has brought an unwelcome discovery for many unemployed Americans, especially those in middle age. Job openings in their old fields exist, but they no longer qualify for them, according to the Associated Press. The job descriptions have changed, with new skills, certifications and other education now required.

The jobless are running into a trend that took root during the Great Recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties — ones that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet wider demands.

Employers, who hold all the cards because of so few job openings, want "two skill sets in one human being," says Harry Griendling, chief executive of DoubleStar Inc., a staffing firm outside Philadelphia.

The trend reflects the push that companies made during the recession to control costs, squeeze more output from their staffs and become more productive. Productivity measures output per hour worked. Economy-wide, it soared 3.5 percent last year. It was the best performance in six years.

"There are jobs available, but the worker just has to have more skills than before," notes Mark Tomlinson, executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, whose U.S. headquarters is in Dearborn, MI, a state hammered by the Great Recession.

Even so, employers faced with slow sales and a weak economy see little reason to boost hiring. Frustrated in their efforts to find qualified applicants among the jobless, employers are turning to those who are already working to fill select openings.

"They're hiring a known quantity that already has this specific experience on their resume," said Cathy Farley, a managing director at Accenture. "It is slowing some of the re-hiring from the ranks of the unemployed."

The unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent last month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months, the longest stretch since the 1930s, when the nation was in the throes of the Great Depression.

Nearly 14.8 million people were unemployed in September. Including those who have given up looking for work, and those who were working part time but wanted full-time jobs, the so-called "underemployment" rate jumped to 17.1 percent last month, from 16.7 percent in August. That reflected an increase of more than 600,000 involuntary part-time workers.

The most rampant layoffs of teachers and other local government workers in nearly three decades more than offset weak hiring in the private sector in September, resulting in a net loss of 95,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department.

"We have to keep doing everything we can to accelerate this recovery," President Obama says. "The only piece of economic news that folks still looking for work want to hear is, `You're hired.' And everything we do is dedicated to make that happen."

The combination of weak hiring by businesses and more governments layoffs expected means unemployment could rise to 10 percent again this year or next. When Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, the AP notes.

Still, the Obama administration is promoting stronger partnerships between two-year public colleges and big-name U.S. employers, such as McDonald's and The Gap, as a way to help better match workers with jobs during the economic recovery and beyond.

Whether the "Skills for America's Future" initiative will gain any traction nationally remains to be seen since, traditionally, community colleges have focused on local employer/worker needs.

For their part, community colleges are short of cash, jammed with laid-off workers and students who in better times would attend four-year schools, and spending heavily on remedial education for students ill-prepared for college.

So what does all this economic turmoil mean for graying Boomers?


WMB believes it means we have to find ways to balance our needs, along with that of our children and our own aging parents. The what-next is key in our consideration of choices that address each of these generations. It’s a tough juggling act for sure and the road ahead, of course, is filled with potholes.

If our job or industry vanished/downsized during the Great Recession, do we train for a new career (assuming something is of interest and reflects one’s aptitude) or do we attempt to rebuild our former career with more education? Reinventing one’s self sounds great, but what does it take to accomplish it and do we have the will to see it through?

Given the speed and breath of the recession’s devastating impact on jobs across many industries, there are many of us mulling the answers to these questions right now. But there is no one-size-fits all when it comes to solutions. In some cases, it’s going to be trial and error (and I’m no exception to this rule).

Make no mistake, there is hope because Americans, on the whole, are a resilient people who dream big things, regardless of the obstacles. That separates us from many other cultures on the planet. Some older folks call it the “can-do” attitude, the idea of achieving something bigger than us.

The Boomers sought to remake the world into something better (not just a bunch of self-absorbed, spoiled, drug-taking kids, as some critics still insist). The Boomer ideals have shifted and changed with the times, but the early lessons learned still apply and resonate.

WMB believes Boomers can leave a legacy by reclaiming our lives and recovering from a downturn that is one for the history books. An earlier generation overcame the Great Depression and led us into a post-World War II prosperity.

It’s our turn now. Whatever you do, get inspired!!!

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. If you like this post, please share it.