Teresa Ghilarducci, Columnist

To Fill the Job Gap, Rehiring Older Could Be Wiser

Going back to work after retiring is hard, but there is plenty the federal government could do to combat age discrimination and improve training.

June 13, 2022 at 1:00 PM UTC

By Teresa Ghilarducci

Teresa Ghilarducci is the Schwartz Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research. She's the co-author of "Rescuing Retirement" and a member of the board of directors of the Economic Policy Institute.

How about helping retirees unretire? Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images — How about helping retirees unretire? *Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images*

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To solve the labor shortage, all eyes are turning to the more than 1.3 million older workers who were pushed out or voluntarily left the labor force during the pandemic.

But don’t hold your breath waiting for all of them to come back now. Sure, some older workers are returning, but they’re outliers. Displaced older workers face huge challenges returning to the labor force and won’t return en masse until the federal government takes significant steps to end age discrimination and assist with health-care costs.