The Age Curve: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Storm

Generation X and the Skilled Labor Force

In spring 2003, Deloitte & Touche published a white paper for the American Manufacturers Association stating that the United States will be ten million workers short of its needs in the skilled-labor category, starting now, with the shortage intensifying over the next twenty years.

Labor shortages are already apparent in many sectors, even with the specter of the 6 percent unemployment. Categories that are most obviously affected include the skilled trades: seamstresses, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, cabinetmakers, furniture makers, masons, construction workers, heavy-equipment operators, auto technicians, diesel technicians, auto-body specialists, longshoremen, truck drivers, bus drivers, marine ...