Aging Workforce Could Stall Economic Development in New England; Maine Ranks High Among Aging Worker Population.PORTLAND, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine, with a 2004 population of 63,882. Portland is Maine's cultural, social and economic capital. Tourists are drawn to Portland's historic Old Port district along Portland Harbor, which is at the mouth of the Fore River and part -- New England's aging workforce could stall economic development and job growth in the future, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report prepared by Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience Studies. The report was released today as part of The New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. Council's Older Worker Initiative. The numbers are particularly significant in Maine, which has the oldest population in the country. "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. This is particularly true in Maine, which has the oldest median age population in the nation," said James Brett, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , of The New England Council, the nation's oldest regional business organization. Mercer Human Resource Consulting Mercer Human Resource Consulting is a human resource consulting firm that publishes the oft-quoted "Worldwide Cost of Living Survey." External links
James G. McCaffrey (born 1960) is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the television series Rescue Me, as Tommy Gavin's dead cousin, Jimmy Keefe. , 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 Maine are particularly striking. "All of the growth in the Maine labor force over the next decade will come from those aged 55 and older," Harrington said. "Unless the aging population is replaced by increasing numbers of younger workers or the labor force attachment of older workers increases sharply, the graying of the labor force will result in labor shortages A Labor shortage is an economic condition in which there are insufficient qualified candidates (employees) to fill the market-place demands for employment at any price. This condition is sometimes referred to by Economists as "an insufficiency in the labor force. and hamper economic growth." Some of the report highlights: - Maine has a larger and more sharply growing share of the older population (age 55 and older). The proportion of the state's population that is 55 years or older has increased from 19 percent in 1950, to 24 percent in 2000, and 27 percent in 2005. - In 2015, one in three Maine residents are projected to be 55 years or older and by 2030, older persons will comprise 39 percent of all the residents of Maine. - The older population is projected to be the source of all population growth in Maine during the 30 years between 2000 and 2030. - Maine's population is getting older at a higher rate than the nation. In 2005, the median age of Maine residents was 41, compared to the median age of 36 for the rest of the country. In Maine, the median age is projected to be 43 in 2015 and 47 in 2030. - At the same time, the state has seen a sharp decline in birth rate. Between 1990 and 2004, the birth rate in Maine declined by 25 percent, compared to a 15.8 percent decline in the rest of the nation. - While teens and young adults in Maine are more likely to participate in the labor market than their counterparts in the region and in the nation, the rate of labor force participation among those aged 55 and above is below that of the nation as a whole. As part of this Initiative, business leaders will meet with public officials in Portland Wednesday 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 Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors : MMC See MultiMediaCard and Microsoft Management Console. ) on the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Chicago, Pacific and London stock exchanges London Stock Exchange London marketplace for securities. It was formed in 1773 by a group of stockbrokers who had been doing business informally in local coffeehouses. . 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 |
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