Almost One in Four Workers Over 55 Years Old
According to data from the Oregon Employment Department and the U.S. Census Bureau, around 23% of all workers within Oregon are 55 years old or older as of 2018. This is more than triple of what it was before the turn of the century. This is likely due to the Baby Boomer generation remaining in the workforce for longer than previous generations.
Our own Benton County lands a bit above average, with 25% of all its workers being aged 55 or older. This follows a trend set by other rural counties, which tend to have an older workforce on average when compared to metropolitan counties–the largest of which being Wheeler County with a whopping 37% of their workforce being over 55 years of age.
This information should prompt employers, especially those in healthcare and manufacturing which have over 64,000 and 48,000 workers over age 55 respectively, to start planning for the inevitable transition. It’s likely that many of these workers will retire in the coming decade, which would be a double-edged sword. While mass retirement would mean losing the combined experience of these older employees, it also presents an opportunity for their wizened shoes to be filled by a younger wave of workers.
By Thomas Nguyen
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