From the New York Times. A Hot Job Market Is Causing Labor Pains for State Governments. The article is on state and local governments struggling to find workers in the tight labor market. The first example is from South Carolina. The job is peanut inspector. The hire is 62 years old.
For people like Cynthia Cuffie, 62, the more aggressive push to hire has created opportunities.
Ms. Cuffie has not worked formally in years. The Hartsville, S.C., resident lives in a house her mother left her and helps take care of her sister, who in turn pays for Ms. Cuffie’s basic living expenses. But peanut inspecting could allow her to better maintain her beloved truck, a 1997 Toyota T-100 given to her by a relative. When she saw the peanut-inspector job advertised on Facebook, she knew she ought to try for it.
“It’s going to do marvels for me,” said Ms. Cuffie, who landed the gig and began training on Aug. 20. She is planning to repay her sister for new tires she has just bought, and then pay tithes at her church. “It’s going to get me out of the hole.”
From the Wall Street Journal. A fun story with a serious message about the benefits of experience (behind pay wall)
The Hottest New Baseball Coaches Were Born During the FDR Administration: Charlie Manuel, age 75, and Phil Regan, age 82, drew snickers when they were hired, but have proven that experience can be a valuable asset
Here’s one highlight from the article:
It seems unlikely either coach will return to his post in 2020. Their teams will probably seek long-term solutions. But Regan and Manuel have done enough to force other teams to consider having an old-timer on their staff moving forward. At the very least, maybe they won’t snicker the next time somebody like Regan or Manuel comes along.
“People don’t respect their elders like they used to,” Lugo said. “I think that says a lot.”
From the Denver Post:
From the Denver Post. Graying workforce, low unemployment changing way employers look for workers
From the article:
In Boulder many local businesses, particularly related to manufacturing, technology and health care, have more jobs than they can find applicants for, said Corine Waldau, the Boulder Chamber‘s director of events, programs and workforce. The chamber and Workforce Boulder County have worked with business owners on how to widen their employee search and prevent employee turnover in a tight labor market. Together they have conducted workshops to help businesses look for competencies — knowledge, skills and abilities — while hiring.
The chamber also is involved in raising awareness about the benefits of hiring older workers, and ways to create a thriving multi-generational workforce, Waldau said. The chamber is working to bring a “cultural shift.” It is about creating a more diverse and enlarged pool of candidates for area employers: “We are starting to initiate those conversations with the aging of the available workforce,” she said.
Chris Farrell 