He argues that a series of policy changes have removed some of the barriers that discouraged older men from working. Companies are prohibited by law from setting mandatory retirement ages. But those, of course, are not the only changes that matter. In addition, the economy is booming. In America, some are over 80.
Labour is so short that our client companies are pleased to get qualified workers.
Manpower scours churches and community groups for older people who might not have thought of returning to work, and boasts that more than a quarter of the 500,000 people it has trained in computer skills are gold-collar workers aged over 50. Until the American boom stops fizzing, it may be impossible to be sure whether the change is permanent or how far it will go. What is clear, however, is that the old are more likely to stay in the workforce if the kind of jobs on offer meet their needs and those of prospective employers. A job for life Given the speed at which their workers are growing greyer, employers know surprisingly little about how productive they are. The general assumption is that the old are paid more in spite of, rather than because of, their extra productivity.