file photo by Boyd Loving
JOHN REITMEYER | MARCH 22, 2017
Millennials are leaving Garden State at a faster clip than any other group; that’s a concern for business groups, who want to keep them here
Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, addresses conference on millennials and the state workforce.
Last year, the size of the nation’s millennial generation grew enough to top baby boomers and become the largest of the five living generations. But in New Jersey, business leaders are tracking a different trend as millennials have been leaving the state at a higher rate than other groups.
The loss of millennials is not only a waste of taxpayer investment in their K-12 education, but there are also concerns that it could be having a broader impact on a state economy that has taken several years to fully recover from the Great Recession.
That’s caused business leaders to begin talking about ways to keep New Jersey’s millennials from leaving the state in the first place, as well as doing things to attract millennials from other states as they launch their careers, and as more and more boomers here reach retirement age.
“It’s a challenge that is screaming out for some attention and some solutions,” said Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. The NJBIA hosted a daylong conference in East Windsor yesterday on the issue of millennials and the state workforce.