FAST
FACTS: The Changing Face of the U.S. Workforce
Available, qualified employees: the pool is shrinking, and the key is
to know where to look. According to labor statistics, available workers
increasingly will be older, female and from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
The following is an excerpt from the most recent (11/30/99) Bureau of Labor
Statistics report on 1998-2008 employment projections:
The supply of workers, the labor force, is projected to increase by
12 percent over the 1998-2008 period...a somewhat lower growth rate than
the 13 percent increase over the previous 10-year period, 1988-98.
* The labor force age 45-64 will grow faster than the labor force of
any other age group as the baby-boom generation (born 1946-64) continues
to age. The labor force 25 to 34 years of age is projected to decline
by 2.7 million, reflecting the decrease in births in the late 1960s and
early 1970s.
* The labor force participation rates of women in nearly all age groups
are projected to increase. Men's labor force participation rates
for 5-year age groups are projected to remain relatively constant, but
aggregate participation is projected to continue to decline as the population
shifts to older age groups that have lower participation rates. As
a result, the women's labor force will grow more rapidly than the men's,
and the women's share of the labor force will increase from 46 percent
in 1998 to 48 percent in 2008.
* The Asian and other labor force and the Hispanic labor force are projected
to increase faster than other groups, 40 percent and 37 percent, respectively,
because of high net immigration and higher than average fertility.
The black labor force is expected to grow by 20 percent, twice as fast
as the 10 percent growth rate for the white labor force.
* The Asian and other share of the labor force will increase from 5
to 6 percent and the Hispanic share from 10 to 13 percent. White
non-Hispanics accounted for 74 percent of the labor force in 1998. Their
share of the labor force in 2008 will decrease modestly to 71 percent.
* By 2008, the Hispanic labor force will be larger than the black labor
force. Source:
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.nr0.htm highest unemployment rate in the U.S. is among persons with disabilities?
It currently stands at about 70%
Another sizable undertapped labor market: persons with disabilities.
Unemployment among this group currently stands at about 70%. Source: http://www.ahedd.org
"
'Ideavirus'--it's a disease metaphor, after all. Yes, it works. But
I like that other V word, too. Value. Find a way to build in value
and the idea will still be alive and kicking after the fever wears
off."
