I think the Desert resort communities get a bad rap sometimes in media by virtue of projecting a stereo typical image of a silver haired individual or couple enjoying the golden years of their life.  Sure, people come here to retire (I hope to do the same someday) and there are age restricted housing developments like Sun City and the Four Seasons, but the average age of the labor force is somewhere around 38 years old. 

It is said that every few decades bring their own peculiar change in demographics. Our population in the Desert is and will continue to be increasingly diverse in terms of cultures and background. In addition, our population is aging: the large baby boomer generation which I am a part of is growing older (you have read my admissions to this in earlier blog entries) and the generation just behind us boomers is considerably smaller.

The U.S. General Accounting Office has reported that 17.3 million of our national workforce was over the age of 55 in 2001 (thankfully, I wasn’t in that group) and that the numbers are expected to reach 25.3 million by 2015 (oops, got me), that works out to be something like 20% of the workforce.

The aging population and lower birth rate will continue to require serious discussion in our county regarding health care coverage, retirement benefits, and long-term care for the elderly and disabled, as well as how on earth to pay for what will be required. Employees are extending their working years, whether by continuing to work full-time or moving to a more flexible schedule. The County government like other Employers will have the advantage of the experience of their more senior workforce for a longer period of time; however, the cost of health and other benefits will continue to rise.

As our national age demographics shift, the various federal and state agencies and the courts are likely to experience increased activity in the claims typically made by those in the older age brackets. For example Federal law, specifically the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), protects individuals over the age of 39, prohibiting employers from considering such age in employment decisions. I understand that age discrimination lawsuits, when successful, can be particularly costly to employers in part due to the availability of front-pay awards – those that extend damages for lost pay and benefits beyond the trial date and, depending on the circumstances, up to the date of expected retirement.  (See you do learn something from reading the newspaper at Starbucks, it is not just down time.)

The ADEA prohibits employers from favoring younger workers over older workers in the protected age group (got to get something in return for this lowered center of gravity, if you know what I mean), but allows employers to favor the older workers, for example, in benefits and related programs (thank heaven for face lifted, tooth veneered, hair transplanted and Clairol dyed lawmakers over the age of 39).

We do have a broad and vibrant demographic in the Desert and I think that is a good thing.  Contrary to national averages, the most likely reality is that a future overbalance in one age category or another is not likely.  For one thing, just to keep the economy moving as robustly as it has been historically, requires people at both ends and the middle of the age spectrum.  It can be said that we live in our own sort of labor force island, because with minor exception people don’t commute here from out side the valley to work or provide our local services.  Also, the generations following us boomers will have more incentive to stay here now that we have both a Cal State University and a University of California regional campus in the Valley.

With the diversity in ages we now have in the Desert, living the good life for some is realized by some being a weekend soccer coach, while for others it means being the first person in the morning to tee off.  These dreams and a host of others are all accommodated in our desert living experience.