older man wearing butcher's apron smiling at camera

The labor market these days might not be so tight if employers would look a bit farther afield for workers than the young. And soon they may have no choice but to do so.

A report in QSR Magazine points out that greater age diversity in the workforce could be the saving of the restaurant industry, since the number of young people taking jobs in food service is shrinking even as the turnover rate in restaurant staff is skyrocketing and the older population is steadily increasing.

While teens in the restaurant workforce once outnumbered adults 55+ by a 3-to-1 ratio, that's shrunk to 2-to-1. And although restaurant staff turnover has topped the 70-percent mark for four straight years, on average, quick-service operators put the percentage much higher—at 130 percent, according to Panera Bread figures, and Chipotle says theirs in 2018 was 144.9 percent.

But at the same time, the proportion of older people is growing. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers put the 65+ portion of the population at just 13 percent 10 years ago. Now, however, it's 17 percent, and in another 10 years it will be around 21 percent—even as the proportion of the population that's 25 and under, and 25–44, "will decline a full percentage point, from 31 to 30 percent, and 27 to 26 percent, respectively."

Other fields besides restaurants need more workers—light rail operators in Denver, for instance; census workers in Minnesota and Chicago, among other places; farm workers in Iowa; and workers in general in Vermont, which is offering a $10,000 bounty to lure workers to the state and is one of several taking such an action—but the growing pool of workers right in front of employers' eyes seems to be, in many cases, invisible.

According to GlassDoor, boomers are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce, although age discrimination—though illegal—is still alive and well. Among the problems older workers face are rising ageism, preconceptions that they're neither as capable nor as nimble mentally as younger workers, and that they can't cope with learning/development and upskilling, says the report.

Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at GlassDoor, is quoted saying in the report, "Senior citizens today are healthier, more engaged, and working longer than past generations. A 'gray wave' of senior citizens will be impacting the workforce in coming years, both in the United States and the United Kingdom."

But employers don't seem to have realized that yet, with a GlassDoor study finding that ageism is "the most experienced or witnessed form of discrimination in both the U.S. (45 percent) and UK (39 percent)."

Chamberlain adds, "Employers who invest in relevant, accessible learning programs in 2020 and beyond will be best positioned to attract, retain and benefit from the aging workforce of tomorrow."

READ MORE:

Instant Insights /

Tight labor market could benefit from less age discrimination

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You