It’s the 21^st century and if anything is certain it is that things change. Indeed, as we now completely leave the 20^th century behind one wonders what will be in store for America’s future. A recent post by the slideshow zealot Business Insider addressed this very question and it caught the attention of SHRM which in turn wrote their own post on the particular trends that would have the biggest impact on human resources. Below are said trends along with our added interpretations. SHRM continues, “the entire slideshow is worth a read click-through, but in case you are one of the 'I hate internet slideshow' types, I will spare you all the clicks and page loads and give you just 5 of the 20 Big Trends from the BI piece, the ones that might have the most direct impact to you as a HR, Talent, of HR Technology pro…”

• Trend #2 - America is Aging 
• There’s no hiding the fact that Americans are aging. The median age of employees has increased a lot since the 80’s as people are living longer and healthier allowing for work to continue into what was once considered the time for retirement. This has a myriad of effects as retirement planning must be shifted to adjust for the longer lifespans, it hurts younger people, e.g. recent college grads, who now have to compete with a higher number of more experienced workers refusing to retire.
• Trend #5 - The Epic Rise of Student Loan Debt 
• Although some people on TV might argue that inflation is muted tell that to students dealing with tuition costs. Indeed, the cost of education has increased significantly and it comes at the same time the value of higher education being questioned. Students with majors in areas that will be of no benefit in the technologically dominated future will be burned with high student loan debt and little hope of wage growth to make up for it. Regardless, higher debt will mean either that graduates will demand higher compensation or settle desperately for even less.
• Trend #17 - American Cities as Economic Juggernauts 
• America is continuing to abandon the old rural lifestyles as more people crowd into cities. This is great for innovation as more people together often lead to more conversations and debates and this is where great ideas and innovation comes from. This also means that if your company is located outside of a major city you are going to find a very hard time getting talent to come work for you over another employer in the city.

Click on the link below to see SHRM’s take on each trend as well as two other trends, Trend #18 - Immigrants Driving Product Innovation, and Trend #13 - The U.S. Manufacturer Roars Back .