Older Workers: An Essential Resource for Massachusetts

Peter B. Doeringer, Boston University
Andrew Sum, Northeastern University
David Terkla, University of Massachusetts Boston
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Blue Ribbon Commission on Older Workers

Abstract

The Massachusetts Jobs Council, the Governor’s principal advisory board on workforce development, established the Blue Ribbon Commission on Older Workers in 1997 to analyze the labor market for older workers in the Commonwealth and to recommend policies to improve the economic status of the older labor force. The Commission held numerous hearings, town meetings, and focus groups to solicit the views of older workers, employers, labor organizations, and training professionals, and it reviewed the findings of extensive research on older workers in Massachusetts.