3 Million Older Americans Can't Find High-Paying Jobs, and It Has Nothing to Do With Skills

According to AARP's Emily Allen, approximately three million older Americans are currently seeking full-time employment, with their inability to obtain high-paying jobs partially — perhaps largely — a reflection of ageism, reports the Greenwich Time . "For older workers, the thought of going back to school or continual learning wasn't in the mindset," she noted. "It had been that very traditional mindset of school, graduate, work, retire. We had to switch mindsets on the part of older workers to say it's about continual learning." Firing and replacing workers with different skills costs companies billions in lost productivity, severance packages, and recruiting, and re-skilling current employees is a cost-effective option. However, Accenture reports that although 54 percent of banking executives say the skills gap will shape workplace strategy, just 3 percent plan to boost investment in re-skilling in the next three years. A majority of the growth in the older workforce comes from educated seniors, but the Economic Policy Research determined unstable or low-wage jobs comprise 50 percent of growth for older employees. Allen understands that older men and women struggle to earn high salaries, and says AARP is "helping older workers adapt to the fact that it's not going to be a traditional job perhaps that will make you financially secure. Increasingly there's going to be more and more different ways in which you generate income."