In 2020 the youngest baby boomers will be 55, the oldest 74. Not surprisingly, the aging of this large demographic cohort is going to fundamentally change the nature of the workforce.
As the chart below shows, by 2020 one quarter of the U.S. workforce will be 55 or older.
The aging workforce is being driven by two main factors - the size of the baby boomer cohort and increases in the workforce participation rate for older workers.
As can be seen from the chart below, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects 43% of those 55+ to be in the labor force in 2020.
We think this forecast is conservative. We expect close to 50% to be in the labor force in 2020. Check out the posts in our Boomer Category for our reasons.
We also think many boomers will choose independent work (freelance, part-time, independent consulting, etc.). This is covered in more detail in the MBO Partners State of Boomer Independents report.
Comments