Older Workers Filling Employment Gap

Low unemployment and a shortage of workers has led to both a decline in the number of age-discrimination charges and an increase in the number of companies who use retired workers as consultants. The number of age-discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has declined more than 20% since fiscal 1993 to less than 16,000. At the same time, a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management found that 62% of companies -- an all-time high -- hire retired employees as consultants.