Many Seniors Are Becoming America’s Nomadic Workforce
A big part of the American Dream is the promise of an easier lifestyle in retirement, but “too many older Americans are living a vagabond existence in a retirement nightmare,” according to Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens.
Weber says that many would-be retirees dream of a life on the open road. “They fantasize about purchasing that RV and driving off on cross country road trips. And yes, there are those who manage to save enough to afford their fantasy. And then there are those who travel across America’s highways in used campers—not for enjoyment, but to survive. There are tens of thousands of them, known as America’s nomadic workforce.”
The Great Recession in 2008 set the stage for this new lifestyle according to Weber. “There are numerous rags-to-riches-to-rags stories of people who labored long and hard only to lose their savings in the recession and its aftermath. Now they are on the road in search of seasonal jobs to make ends meet.”
The ‘nomadic workforce’ has grown so large that new online recruitment services have been established to offer opportunities for mobile seniors to earn a living. CoolWorks.com, Snagajob.com, and Backdoorjobs.com list seasonal “careers” in locations throughout the U.S.
Even Mega-retailer Amazon created CamperForce, a seasonal employment agency offering job opportunities for RV’ers during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Weber.adds, “CamperForce was established with senior citizens in mind, people in their 60s and 70s. In fact, CamperForce recruiter Kelly Calmes boasts “we’ve had folks in their eighties who do a phenomenal job for us.”