Sussex County’s older workers highly valued

An interesting question was posed at last week’s Sussex County Today & Tomorrow Conference at Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown. With a growing population of older people in the county, how important are they as part of our workforce?

Employers sitting on a panel discussing demographic and economic trends in the county were very clear in their response: “We need older workers now, and we need them more than ever.”

Older workers, it turns out, have a high reliability factor and they bring a strong core of basic skills to positions. While many people may be retiring to Sussex, there are still many who want jobs not only for extra income to supplement whatever retirement benefits they have, but also to keep their minds and bodies active.

The number of people aged 65 and older living in Sussex County is expected to grow from 42,000 in 2010 to nearly 80,000 in 2025. That’s almost a doubling.  In stark contrast, the next-largest segment of the Sussex population is the 0-14 age group, which is expected to increase from 30,000 in 2010 to 40,000 by 2025.

Overall, the Sussex County population is expected to continue its growth trend from an estimated 197,000 people in 2010 to 216,000 in 2025. A couple of obvious implications arise from these population trends.

First, the majority of older people in Sussex will become even greater in the years ahead, which will increase the demand for healthcare services and the number of jobs available in that sector. Behind wholesale and retail, with 13,000 jobs, and tourism, with 11,000 jobs, the Sussex County healthcare sector employs the third-highest number of employees, 9,000 and growing, in Sussex.

Second, the growing number of people in the 0-14 age group means the county’s education sector - with 4,500 employees currently - will have to recruit and grow more teachers and administrators to meet that demand.

The dominant older sector of Sussex, while keeping itself healthy through the good medical facilities of Sussex, also obviously offers a huge resource of wise and reliable workers who can help our economy thrive, and help in our schools and daycare centers as volunteers, tutors and mentors for a society demanding better-educated students.