Expert says Maine’s aging population an asset
Along with recruiting younger workers, economist John Dorrer told a legislative panel Tuesday that the state should invest in giving older workers skills to match today’s economy.
The Bangor Daily News reported Dorrer, a former acting commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor, urged lawmakers to view the state’s aging population as an economic opportunity that could provide Maine with a generally better-educated work force.
Dorrer told the state’s Council on Aging, made up of lawmakers, business leaders, health care providers and education officials, that “skills are the new currency of the labor market,” which provides an opportunity for the oldest state in the country.
By 2030, over a quarter of Maine’s population is expected to be older than 65. In 2001, just 14% of the state’s population was in that age range.
The group that met Tuesday to hear Dorrer’s recommendation will eventually craft an action plan to present in early 2014 about how the state should deal with the challenges presented by its aging population.
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