According to a recent Career Builder Survey, 53% of employers plan to hire employees aged 50 and over in 2014 (up from 48% last year). Even though many of these workers are over-qualified, 77% of employers said they would hire them for entry level positions.
Related Post: Hiring in November and December Bolsters Job Picture
The survey brings “good news for workers looking for a new job at the end of their career,” says Michael Erwin, a spokesperson for CareerBuilder. “In ongoing discussions with employers, we constantly hear that mature workers are good hires because of the intellectual capital that they bring to the team.” Less money has to be spent training mature workers and “they can act as mentors to the younger teammates. It makes good business sense to have a diverse workforce as companies continue to come out of the recession,” Erwin adds.
Although the recession caused many workers to delay retirement plans or forego them completely, 50% of those over the age of 60 said they would be able to retire within 4 years. Women are more likely than men to delay retirement (71% of women vs 49% of men; 18% of women over 60 say they will never be able to retire, while only 7% of men said the same).
Reasons given for delaying retirement include:
- financially can’t afford to (79%)
- need the health insurance and benefits (61%)
- like their job (49%)
- enjoy where they work (46%)
- afraid retirement will be boring (27%)
Related Post: How Employer-Paid Benefits Affect Your Bottom Line
The good news is that as retirement funds and the economy rebound, fewer people are delaying retirement than at the height of the recession. More people are finding they are able to retire without needing a part-time job, and if they are seeking work, they are more likely to be hired according the survey findings.
Please read the article written by Melissa Winn in its entirety here.