Older job seekers may want to look toward employment trends to successfully navigate today's competitive market and find out which sectors are doing the most hiring. The good new on the job trend front is that despite a fairly steady national unemployment rate of 9.1%, there are a number of jobs that are not being filled due to a lack of workers who have the right qualifications on their resume, including in the financial and high-tech fields. Many older workers are also choosing to stay at their jobs longer. A new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that the overall labor rate for people 55 and older has been rising steadily since 1993. The trend indicates that more workers are staying on the job in order to save for retirement or retain health insurance benefits. Job seekers looking for more flexible hours will be happy to know that more companies are now offering non-traditional schedules and increased telecommunting opportunities. The Telework Research Network found that the number of people who work from home grew by 61% between 2005 and 2009. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the workforce of people between the ages of 55 to 64 grew by more than 47% from 2000 to 2010. |