Reasons Why Seniors Are Replacing Kids In Fast Food Restaurants

This all makes sense to me. One thing the author forgot. Seniors know how to count change. Kids don't.

(Bloomberg) -- The sullen teenager grinding through a restaurant shift after school was once a pop culture cliche—as American as curly fries.

Not anymore.That’s because senior citizens are taking his place—donning polyester, flipping patties and taking orders. They’re showing up at casual dining chains such as Bob Evans and fast-food operators like McDonald’s Corp., which says it plans to make senior citizens one hiring focus in the coming year.

 Recruiters say older workers have soft skills—a friendly demeanor, punctuality—that their younger cohorts sometimes lack. 

Two powerful trends are at work: a labor shortage amid the tightest job market in almost five decades, and the propensity for longer-living Americans to keep working—even part-time—to supplement often-meager retirement savings.