According to a study from the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C., nearly 350,000 senior men and women earn paychecks in the nation's stores. The study found that more over-65 employees are working retail than the next two occupations - farming and janitorial work - combined.
According a survey of a few older retail workers conducted by the Los Angeles Times, some "have to" work retail because their savings are running short. Others "want to" work retail to avoid the boredom of retirement. Many work retail jobs for a combination of both reasons.
The reason senior citizens are taking jobs at retail is because employers in many other industries are reluctant to retain or hire older workers.
On the one hand, the specter of senior citizens having retail as their only job option worries some advocates. They're pushing the federal government, the country's largest corporations, and other employers to keep older workers on the payroll beyond 65.
"The golden years are being transformed into the Wal-Mart decade," Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life, told the L.A. Times. While he does agree that the retail industry provides benefits, flexibility and jobs, particularly for less-educated workers, Mr. Freedman doesn't view retail as an ideal retirement option.
"These are not exactly the pictures of reinvention that you get in your monthly issue of Fortune, Money or AARP magazine," says Mr. Freedman. This is "an object lesson in the dangers of what could happen if we don't develop a compelling human resource strategy for an aging society."
But some retailers are aggressively seeking out older employees. Home Depot partnered with AARP four years ago to recruit older employees and says it now has 5,000 employees older than 70.
Their best asset is that they're loyal and dependable, asserts Tim Crow, chief human resources officer for Home Depot. "We look at the demographics, and everyone is getting older. This is the future work force."
Discussion Questions: Should retailers be actively recruiting and embracing workers over the age of 65? Do you agree that older Americans will represent the "future work force" for retailers? On the other hand, do you agree that the country needs to develop a human resource strategy for an aging society?