National Older Workers Employment Week, 2000

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7345 of September 22, 2000

National Older Workers Employment Week, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

As a Nation, we are growing older, and so is our
workforce. Today, there are 49 million workers in
America aged 45 years or older--approximately 35
percent of America's labor force--and by 2008, that
number will grow to 62 million, or about 40 percent of
the workforce. One in four Americans between the ages
of 65 and 69 has at least a part-time job, and 80
percent of the ``baby boom'' generation intends to keep
working past the age of 65. Increasingly, older
Americans want to work, and for most, the opportunity
to work adds not only to the length but also to the
quality of their lives.

The abilities, experience, and strong work ethic of
these older Americans are a precious resource for our
Nation in today's strong economy. With the unemployment
rate at its lowest level in more than a generation,
businesses urgently need to hire more workers if they
are to keep pace with the demand for their products and
services. Too often overlooked or underutilized, older
workers offer employers a broad and diverse pool of
talent.

Recognizing the importance of older workers to our
Nation and our economy, the Congress unanimously
passed, and I was proud to sign into law, the Senior
Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 2000. This legislation
eliminates the Social Security retirement earnings
test, a provision that withheld benefits from Americans
working beyond the age of 65. It allows older Americans
to enjoy the extra income and personal fulfillment that
work offers without being penalized, and it ensures
that companies facing labor shortages will have a
greater supply of experienced workers. The Act will
also help our economy grow without inflation and
encourage Americans to work longer, thus contributing
more to the tax base and to the Social Security trust
fund at precisely the time when the percentage of
younger workers paying into the system will be
decreasing.

Older Americans have contributed much to the life of
our Nation and to the extraordinary growth and
prosperity we enjoy today. We owe them our respect and
gratitude; we also owe them the opportunity to continue
working as long as they desire. Through laws such as
the Older Americans Act, which I have called on the
Congress to reauthorize and strengthen, the Age
Discrimination Act, the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act, and now the Senior Citizens' Freedom to
Work Act, the United States Government guarantees that
opportunity. And, through the Senior Community Service
Employment Program at the Department of Labor and the
Administration on Aging at the Department of Health and
Human Services, older workers have access to the
programs and services they need to continue making
their own vital contributions to the American
workplace.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim September 24 through
September 30, 2000, as National Older Workers
Employment Week. I urge employers across the Nation to
recognize the energy and ability of older Americans and
to develop new strategies for recruiting and utilizing
older workers. I also encourage public officials
responsible for job placement,

training, and related services to intensify their
efforts throughout the year to assist older workers in
finding suitable jobs and training.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord
two thousand, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.