Americans are leaving their jobs at record rates in what some are calling the Great Resignation. While younger workers may be resigning one job for another, older workers are ending their careers altogether at much higher rates than in previous years. For these workers, the trend in leaving the workforce is more accurately called the Great Retirement.

Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, stayed in the workforce longer than previous generations. As recently as 2018, 29% of Boomers age 65 to 72 were working or looking for work. In comparison, only 21% of Silent Generation and 19% of Greatest Generation members were in the workforce when they were the same age. The increased rates of workforce participation between the generations have been partially attributed to higher levels of education and increased good health into our early senior years.

As with many things, the pandemic may be slowly reversing the trend of working past age 65. According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. was gaining roughly 1 million retirees per year between 2008 and 2019. That number spiked rapidly, with 3.5 million joining the ranks of the retired between third quarter 2019 and third quarter 2021. As of the third quarter of this year, 50.3% of all U.S. residents age 55 and older are retired, with rates ranging from 17.1% of those age 55 to 64, to 86.7% of those 75 years and older.

What percentage of Baby Boomers age 65 to 72 were retired in the third quarter of 2021?

A. 29.2%
B. 47.1%
C. 66.9%
D. 70.0%

As the 2021 holiday season rushes by, your social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram will be more valuable than ever to your business and customers. The question is, are your channels optimized to help have a successful and productive holiday season?

In this short course, you will learn proven strategies, tips and tactics to plan, prepare and post social media posts that drive business to you. We will cover both organic posts and advertisements to help you make the most of this upcoming season.

Some topics we will cover will include:

Designed to be quick, easy, and packed full of information, this course will give you the skills needed to build an online presence that supports in-store and online sales.

Access to broadband is critical for Wisconsin communities in the 21st century - connected to better business performance, entrepreneurship, higher home values, better educational outcomes, improved health outcomes, and higher worker productivity. Despite these benefits, access to high-quality broadband is limited in many communities throughout Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Broadband Summit is organized to help Wisconsin communities enhance broadband access.

Peter Kilde, CCAP, Executive Director of West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency (West CAP) discusses the successful development of high-quality, affordable multi-family housing that integrates cutting-edge clean, renewable energy.

Over the past three years, the Village of Waunakee, Village of Mount Horeb and City of Portage have worked with the Division of Extension to pilot a community-led housing study program that is designed to increase the availability of workforce and affordable housing. The focus is on identifying gaps in workforce housing and affordable housing,” according to Dr. Kristin Runge, Community Economic Development Specialist, “and the goal is to enable a community to fill those gaps.”

In Crawford County, Wisconsin, Extension Educators are building a new Child Care Business Development program. Jessica Jane Spayde is leading this process, utilizing her certification in a business consulting toolbox called GrowthWheel, to build a new set of workshops catered to new and existing child care providers in Wisconsin.

Broadband Drives Growth in Women-led Rural Entrepreneurship

Student Debt Hinders Community Well-Being

Research: Is Bigger Better? Farm Size and Community Well-Being

Remote Workers Can Live Anywhere. These Cities (and Small Towns) Are Luring Them With Perks

(Wall Street Journal - 10/9/2021)