A new report has found that like many of the recent labor trends, including the Great Resignation, the Big Quit, and others, the “Silver Tsunami” is going to have a massive impact on jobs.
According to a new report from Lightcast, a labor market data and analysis company, the United States jobs market is poised to take a massive hit, with labor shortages looming thanks to the Silver Tsunami.
So what is the Silver Tsunami? If you haven’t guessed, it’s the 76 million Baby Boomers who are preparing to retire in the US and bring with it a shortage of workers that could last decades.
“It would be tempting to think that the storm has passed—with ‘The Great Resignation’ over, the labor market will return to business as usual. But this wasn’t the storm itself; it was only a precursor to the real thing,” the report states.
“The retirement of the Baby Boomers is a structural change, not a cyclical one, and the declining labor force participation of younger generations will be difficult to reverse.”
The data in the report highlights that several industries are already seeing a high demand for workers, with a shortage of those who can fill those roles. Even worse, that demand is expected to increase over the next few years.
The healthcare and construction industries are expected to feel this shortage the most throughout the next five years, according to the report.
While the report points to the iceberg ahead, it also offers some recommendations to correct the course and avoid a Titanic disaster.
Among those recommendations is one for employers, suggesting they stop looking at recruits as fully-formed star employees with every tool and ability necessary for the role. Instead, different skills and qualifications should be considered to find employees who can become the all-star on the team.
The report also suggests employers begin offering things beyond the paycheck, as benefits can play a massive role in someone staying or leaving their field.
For more information and industry-by-industry recommendations on how to address staffing shortages, visit Lighcast’s full report here.