2009 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SPEAKER BIO |
Heather Brome
Heather Brome is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's New England Public Policy Center. Her work supports the Center's research on demographic and labor force trends in the New England region. Previously, she consulted to cities on economic development strategies for a Boston-based non-profit, ran a congestion management program for a regional transportation agency in California, and worked as a planner for a private urban and regional planning firm. She holds a masters in public policy from the University of Michigan and a BA in environmental science and public policy from Harvard.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
New England’s Labor Force and Migration
The supply of skilled labor in New England is growing less quickly than it has in the past. This is due, in part, to the aging of the population. The impact of an aging population on the labor force will be particularly pronounced in New England because the other sources of new workers --birth rates and rates of people migrating into the region--are lower than in other parts of the country. Lengthening the labor supply of older workers represents an opportunity for expanding the region's labor force. As the nature of work has changed, Americans' health has improved, and cultural expectations have shifted, workers are able and willing to work at older ages. Morever, many Baby Boomer may need to work longer as the value of their retirement savings and homes has fallen. However, the shift from career to retirement has become more complicated and mixed signals from public policy make deciding how and when to retire a more complicated question than it has been in the past.