Prioritizing Ergonomic Research in Aging for the 21st Century American Workforce

Details

• Personal Author:
  McMullin DL ; Schwera DJ
• Description:
  The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2008 Americans aged 55 and over will represent the greatest annual growth rate and will occupy 30% of the American population. Additionally, by 2008 civilian labor force participation rates for the 55 and older group will grow to 36.8%, a 6.5% increase over the participation rates for this group for 1996, with the 55 to 64 age group expected to add 7.3 million workers. The predicted median age of the labor force for 2008 is estimated at 40.7 years, an age not approached because the median age peaked at 40.5 years in 1962. Coupled with this aging profile, employment in professional specialty occupations will increase the fastest and add the most jobs in the decade leading to 2008. Within the professional specialty professions, the majority of the employment increases are expected to occur in the service industry division. The purpose of this paper is to merge demographic data with ergonomic and human factors data and predictions to explore areas of ergonomic research that will aid in keeping the aging workforce, and those with whom they interact, healthy in their jobs and keep the companies for whom they are employed competitive. Although some ergonomics research has been conducted in all the listed areas of expected growth, the paper reexamines the job demands in each sector, with a focus on the needs of the aging workforce. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Demography Ergonomics Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Aging Workforce Demographic Characteristics Professional Workers Service Industries
• ISSN:
  0361-073X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Washington ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  99-110
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057491
• Citation:
  Exp Aging Res 2002 Jan; 28(1):99-110
• Contact Point Address:
  Diana J. Schwerha, Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
• Email:
  DSCHWERHA@DP.NET
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Performing Organization:
  West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19940701
• Source Full Name:
  Experimental Aging Research
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2be7d4ec016ce745684b839b282f457f17bdcbba3c4b4cbd2af8da21253ce216a485b418e5a80a3e06f57fea6790dbc4aa6860428e418818808a888d9a54e57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214830/cdc_214830_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 157.01 KB ]