The countdown has begun for the first of 78 million Baby Boomers to reach retirement age in 2011. Even as Boomers express mixed feelings about leaving the workforce, employers face daunting figures: the prospect of 40 percent of employees retiring within the next two decades and only 50 million Generation Xers (born 1961–1981) poised to fill those jobs. In spite of the growing presence of Generation Y (born 1982–2002), the Economic Policy Forum predicts a shortage of 35 million workers by 2030. This forecasts not only a statistical drop in the labor force growth rate from 1.6 percent per year between 1950-2000 to 0.6 percent annually between 2000–2050, but also an exodus of talent and knowledge and the need for adaptive solutions on the part of employers (Toossi, 2002).
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