For years, Retail Sales has been the fallback job for the longer term unemployed or for Baby Boomers who’ve lost their job. You know the drill, “You can do something – you can work at…. (fill in the retailer: Home Depot, Walmart, Macy’s?). Or you can work with Uber.”
Yet, brick and mortar retail jobs are shrinking. Large and small employers shutter stores while they wrestle with giant online retailers who have groomed consumers to prefer the ease, time savings and instant delivery offered by online shopping. Many find that driving for Uber or other services just doesn’t pay.
Another option?
There is a new employment option for these job seekers – Elder Care Services. We’ve heard about the rapidly growing aging population and the demands it will place on healthcare. But, it also offers a wide range of business and employment opportunities – not just in healthcare. While precise statistics are not available for the “elder services/concierge” industry, other on-demand industries have flourished. Baby boomers are also a fast-growing worker population. Many boomers are attracted to this work because they feel an affinity for the client base or because they have experience with aging family members. Plus, they value the supplemental income.
Typically, an elder care services employee has a flexible schedule, working part-time. They carry out tasks or help clients complete daily life activities such as light help around the house, running small errands, getting clients to appointments, or joining g them for recreation and conversation. They can act as eyes and ears for distant family members and lessen the isolation for those aging at home. Generally, they need to handle some physical aspects, like pushing a wheelchair. Medical care is strictly left to medical professionals.
Pay rates vary, from $20 to $30 per hour (or higher depending on blocks of time or if other non-medical, non- housekeeping tasks are required). This doesn’t replace earnings or lost benefits from a full-time job, but it involves more meaningful, creative interpersonal contact than counter or cashier sales. It’s just one option in a high growth, high demand sector. Click here for more info.
