Keeping Seniors Employed During the Pandemic

KOLO-TV says Nevada's "Elder's Count" report from the Aging and Disability Services Division (ADSD) indicates that the state's adult population continues to expand at a higher rate in the United States, and many seniors are confronted with either risking exposure to COVID-19 while employed, or staying home. AARP estimated that in the first six months of the pandemic, workers 55 and older were 17 percent more likely to lose their jobs than those just a few years younger. "Ninety percent of Nevada's older adults' . . . main income source is social security and it doesn't grow with inflation and it doesn't adapt to the cost of increased rent," said senior advocate Lynda Hascheff. "The majority of the folks who are 65 and older continue to work for financial reasons, some social but mostly financial." ADSD and other senior advocates are striving to provide assistance to keep seniors employed as job competition intensifies. "We have the Workforce Investment Opportunities Act . . . a collaboration of programs that assist those in obtaining employment and maintaining employment," said ADSD Planning Chief Cheyenne Pasquale. "As we transition to our new normal we know that people are going to need those technological skills and work remotely so those training skills that were offered is a nice shift in our service delivery model."