• This year, 4,222,594 people in the United States and 148,682 people in Georgia turned or will turn 16
• In 2020, 3.2 million Baby Boomers retired in the United States

• Both the United States and the state of Georgia are gaining potential workforce more quickly than they are losing workers to retirement.
  

A widely cited figure is that every day in the United States, about 10,000 to 11,000 workers retire from the workforce. This leads to several obvious questions:

• Are there enough people joining the workforce to compensate for retiring workers leaving the workforce?
• Do these trends for retirements, and new workers hold for the state of Georgia?

We can look at some broad figures to understand the answers to these questions.

How many workers retired during 2020, at the height of the pandemic?

A Pew Research study found that 3.2 million Baby Boomers retired in the United States in 2020, which equates to about 8,800 people retiring daily. This 8,800 includes Baby Boomers only, not retirees of other generations, so that it may be consistent with the widely cited figure of 10,000 – 11,000 daily retirements from the workforce.

How many workers are retiring as of 2022?

JobsEQ figures from 2022 Q1, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, found that there are 2,578,829 retirees annually in the U.S. or about 7,065 daily retirements. The same data set reports 74,586 retirees annually in the State of Georgia or about 204 per day.

From this, we can conclude that retirements have slowed down in the past couple of years since 2020.

How many people reach working age (age 16+) daily?

JobsEQ estimates, based on figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, that 4,222,594 people in the United States and 148,682 people in Georgia turned or will turn 16 in 2022. That is about 11,569 potential new workers in the U.S. daily and 407 in Georgia.

How many people reach “retirement age” (age 65+) daily?

In the United States, 4,040,942 people have turned or will turn 65 in 2022, or about 11,071 people daily. In the State of Georgia, 120,585 people have turned or will turn 65, which is about 331 people daily.

How does the number of retirees compare to those reaching working age?

By comparing those who are reaching working age (16) daily and those who are retiring, we can deduce that both the United States and the State of Georgia are gaining potential workforce more quickly than they are losing workers to retirement. The State of Georgia is gaining 2 potential workers for every retirement, while the United States is gaining 1.6 workers for every retirement.

These figures do not account for those who previously retired and then re-entered the workforce, which is reportedly happening at a higher rate now. The figures also do not consider international immigration of workers nor those who delay entering the workforce until much later than age 16.  However, the general shape of the numbers indicates that the incoming workforce is well-positioned to fill the gaps left by retirements – especially in Georgia.

Companies around the world continue to look to the Peach State for their growth and business development needs. Our skilled workforce and training, competitive incentives and tax structures, transportation infrastructure and access to a variety of energy options, are reasons why Georgia is ranked the number one state for business.

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Contact
Monica Scott – Sr. Research Analyst
Technical Solutions
[email protected]