Star Tribune Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:02:05 GMT
Graying workforce worries cities
Younger workers are going to be needed to fill the shoes of baby boomers retiring from local government jobs. Attracting them is key. Cities across the state are bracing for an unexpected fallout from the aging of the baby boom generation: a spike in retirement of local government employees who have run cities for decades. While the baby boomer retirements will affect many industries, local governments fear they will be hit harder because they have an older workforce that can retire earlier. Around Minnesota and the country, officials say they are concerned about replacing the people who run sewer systems, recruit businesses and plan neighborhoods. In Fridley, three of the city's eight managers are planning to retire in about five years. Brooklyn Park will lose four managers in the same time frame. St. Louis Park is expecting 20 to 30 percent of its workforce to retire in the next decade. Across Minnesota, 43 percent of city, county and school district employees are over the age of 50, according to data from the Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota. "In the next five years, we will lose some key people," said Brooklyn Park City Manager Doug Reeder, who is retiring in April.
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