Does your staffing software allow you to enter “66,” “67,” “68,” and even higher numbers for the age of your workers? Can your system handle “100″? It probably does, but you should double check anyways, for workers 65 and older are one of the fastest growing segments of the American workforce.

Seniors give a number of reasons why they seem to be flooding back into the work place including; wanting to keep earning money so they can eventually retire more comfortably, avoiding boredom, and needing to work because their current savings/401K/pension is not enough to support their life style.

Here are some graphs that I recently stumbled upon that illustrate the surge of seniors in the workplace:

Data Source: 2009 statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The picture is clear: people 65 and older are working more than ever. And for now, it doesn’t have anything to do with the Baby Boomers because they didn’t start turning 65 until 2010 – although it’s a really safe bet that as Boomers age, the number of 65-and-older workers out there will rise. In 2011, there are 10,000 Boomers retiring EVERY DAY and this trend will continue for the next 19 YEARS !

Why are so many senior citizens choosing to work? According to an article in U.S. News and World Report, money is a big factor, but so are the desire to avoid boredom, feel useful, connect with others, and learn new things. And the simple fact is that, by and large, people 65 and older now are more physically and mentally fit than their counterparts 40 or even 30 years ago.

Senior workers are often attractive to employers. Seniors rely on Medicare and generally prefer to work part time, making them a lot cheaper to employ than full-time staff with healthcare benefits. And because they tend to have a lot of experience and be rooted in their communities, they also tend to be highly reliable.

Plenty of websites like this one cater to seniors looking for employers and vice versa. It’s time for staffing agencies to start paying more attention to this valuable segment of the workforce as they can be some of the best workers out there.

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