We don’t need a lot of encouragement to believe that baby boomers still have a lot to offer the world… but we were still pretty happy to spot this short piece by assistant editor Joshua Sophy on SmallBusinessTrends.com because its basic takeaway is, small businesses are still looking to hire us!
Small businesses are being flooded by Millennial job seekers nationwide.
But not all small businesses are looking to hire the youngest members of the workforce.
In fact, in some cities across the U.S., small businesses are looking to hire employees with considerably more experience — the Baby Boomers. Data from Indeed.com shows that small businesses are looking to fill their employment rosters with folks in this age bracket mostly in the heartland.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, ranked highest as the city most demanding Baby Boomer help, Indeed finds. Indeed uses an Interest Score — based on click-thru rates by users on small business job listings— to develop this data.
Houston, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland also ranked high among heartland cities where businesses are seeking baby boomers, according to this same information.
However, it’s not just the places people tend to settle where small businesses are looking for Baby Boomer help. Cities where the new economy seems to be thriving are also demanding high volumes of Baby Boomers for open jobs. San Antonio, Atlanta, Raleigh, and Austin, Texas, tend to attract the young and older workforce.
Jacksonville, Florida, and New Orleans also made the top 10 in Indeed’s list.
So, what is it that’s attracting small businesses to Baby Boomers?
“Baby boomers are often overlooked due to the many stories and studies around the undoubtedly large and important Millennial workforce. But as many people around the country work longer, they remain a crucial part of the workforce for both large and small businesses alike,” says Indeed senior vice president Paul Wolfe, head of HR there. “As our list of cities shows, many baby boomers are interested in jobs with small businesses, and can often bring strong experience and leadership to an organization.”
Hello Everyone, I’m a 58 year old Lady Boomer, and Very Proud to be! I am also a Widow for the past year an a half, which is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to live with. After working in factories for 10+ years (which i truly enjoyed) as well as Custodian for a School for 18+ years, (Repetitive, Physical work) I’m Retired on SERS (School Employees Retirement System) Disability, and I can barely eat and pay my bills every month. Life was good enough, with my paycheck and my husbands PERS pension, but as you might guess, Disability cut my income in 1/2 to ($ 1,100 pr month/Net), and I only receive $310/Net from my husbands pension. Thanks for Listening.
It’s true that younger people are getting more jobs. But it might just be because they are perceived as workers that are more equipped to use current technology. It’s not something that has to remain this way. We have sites like Teachable that can bridge the gap. We just have to be willing to challenge ourselves.