Us workforce will be smaller, more diverse in 2050

New data released by the US Census Bureau indicates that the US workforce will become increasingly more diverse over the next thirty years. This continuous increase in workplace diversity will come primarily as a result of the large number of retiring baby boomers (eventually they will all retire) and the growing population of minorities.

Even though minorities will become the majority in the United States by 2042, the new census projections indicate that the working age population, defined as the age group from 18 through 64, will be majority minority as early as the year 2039. By mid century, 55 percent of the working population will be minorities.

Because the US is an aging nation (a nation where the overall birthrate is declining quicker than the death rate), the working age population is projected to steadily decline to 57 percent of the total population by the year 2050. In the year 2050, this same working age population will be 30% Hispanic, 12% non-Hispanic Black and 8% non-Hispanic Asian. Today, the breakdown is 15% Hispanic, 12% Black and 5% Asian.

There are two important milestones to remember here. First, the size of the workforce relative to the total population will be comparatively small. Second, as a result of the shrinking size of the workforce and increase in workforce diversity, as a nation we need to make sure that this new diverse workforce is prepared.

A key component in the growth of the minority population over the next thirty years will come from the Hispanic population, which is projected to nearly triple, from 46.7 million to 132.8 million from 2008-2050. By 2050, nearly one in three U.S. residents will be Hispanic.

The challenge in preparing minorities for the workforce lies primarily with Hispanics, if only by virtue of the sheer size and exponential growth of the Hispanic population. Hispanics fall well behind other minority groups when it comes to education, as they have the lowest high school and college completion rates of any racial or ethnic group. As a nation we need to do more to prepare Hispanics for graduation from high school, college, and to become leaders in the new diversity dominated workforce.

This characteristic of ill preparedness for the workforce is also shared by the African American population, who despite a long term increase in college graduation rates since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the black student college graduation rate remains at a dismally low 44 percent. Asian Americans, projected to make up the smallest portion of the new diverse workforce in 2050, have the highest college graduation rates in the US, exceeding those of White students in many states.

The new census bureau data makes it clear that changes are sure to come over the next three decades. Employers and companies armed with this knowledge would be wise to extend their diversity recruiting efforts and develop community outreach programs to motivate and inspire young minorities to pursue higher education with the goal of becoming the business leaders of tomorrow. Making simple investments in promising diversity students in graduate school, college, and even high school is in the best interests of any company wanting to find and develop the best future business leaders over the next thirty years.