Utilities Hit Hard by Baby Boomer Exodus

In answer to the upcoming employment crisis, Staffing Utilities (subsidiary of Staffing Technologies) answers the request for attrition relief from the utilities industry and has created a program taking into account the unique needs of retirees.  Consider the following chart that illustrates the surge in growth from 1945 to 1964 and the drop in the U.S. birthrate from 1965 to 1983.
 
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census and HRI as represented in “Energizing your Human Capital for Organizational Resiliency,” by Karen Shellenback (Smart Start Conference May 8-9, 2007).
Noteworthy statistics nationwide follow:
For each worker entering the workforce today, two workers are exiting the domestic workforce.

There will be a labor shortage of 10 million people in the US by 2010 and continuing to increase to 40 million by 2015.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that there will be 54.7 million open jobs from present to 2013 through growth, and there will at the same time be 77 million baby boomers in the U.S. reaching retirement age.
The Utilities industry is expected to be among the hardest hit, due to the historical lack of attrition.  As discussed  in “The New Energy Crisis: Power Industry in for a Jolt as About Half of Workforce Readies for Retirement,” the University of Cincinnati published a study conducted by the American Public Power Association (APPA) finding that the loss of critical knowledge and inability to find replacements are the two biggest challenges in the industry, particularly because the age of utility workers is almost 50, and 45% of workforce in electric and natural gas utilities are expected to reach retirement in the next several years.
Additional key statistics:
According to Melanie Medina in her article, “Atlanta’s Rising Trend of Teleworking,” sixty percent (60%) of Georgia Power’s Workforce will reach retirement age within five years.

Electricity demand nationally is expected to grow by 45% in the next 15 to 20 years, (“The New Energy Crisis: Power Industry in for a Jolt as About Half of Workforce Readies for Retirement,” www.uc.edu ).

First Energy Group is faced with an expected attrition rate of 75% in the next 10 years, (“The New Energy Crisis: Power Industry in for a Jolt as About Half of Workforce Readies for Retirement,” www.uc.edu ).

Gulf Power expects a 50% loss of its work force due to retirement attrition in the next 10 years, (“The New Energy Crisis: Power Industry in for a Jolt as About Half of Workforce Readies for Retirement,” www.uc.edu ).

By 2010, thirty percent of the US workforce will be age 65+, and 52% will be between 55-64, with the next two generations following Baby Boomers being 15% smaller, leaving a significant shortage of workforce, (“The New Energy Crisis: Power Industry in for a Jolt as About Half of Workforce Readies for Retirement,” www.uc.edu ).

In Georgia alone the number of labor force aged 55-64 will grow by 67.4% (in 2012), almost 4 times the average for all ages to almost 800,000 people, and the labor force aged 65+ is expected to grow by 36.6% to 138,000 people, (“Georgia Workforce 2012: A Comprehensive Analysis of Long-term Employment Trends”).

The number of Georgia labor force participants aged 35-44 will decline by 72,400 workers, creating a shortage of workers to replace retirees, necessitating a shift from the recruitment of younger workers to the retention of companies’ older, experienced employees, (“Georgia Workforce 2012: A Comprehensive Analysis of Long-term Employment Trends”).
According to survey conducted by Korn/Ferry, “Baby Boomers Defy Traditional Retirement through ‘Re-careering,” retirees are looking at re-careering as a viable alternative to the retirement lifestyle for the following reasons: boredom with retirement (22%); sense of productivity (21%); intellectual challenge (20%); insufficient retirement savings (13%); and personal interaction with others (13%).
Staffing Utilities, a subsidiary of the fourteen-year old technical staffing firm, Staffing Technologies, has developed its company strategy around helping companies to deal with their workforce attrition due to retirement and creating a unique work/life program in line with the particular needs of retirees. For more information, contact Crystal Rast at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .