An 87-year-old Ohio man is hoping to get into the trucking business in order to pay for his wife’s medical expenses, CNN affiliate WEWS reported Tuesday.
“It’s definitely a trend. The bureau of labor statistics is predicting an increase over the next five years,” Lori Long and Entrepreneurship Professor at Baldwin Wallace University said.
In the last year, nearly 300,000 Americans 85 and older were working. That number is up 3 percent from the start of the 2006 recession.
Industries, like the trucking industry, who years ago might not have given Robert Blocksom a shot, could now do just that.
“The shortage of drivers spans the entire country and virtually every trucking company in the United States,” Frank Gagyi, President of the Buckeye Interimobile Trucking company in Cleveland said.
And that’s where Blocksom is hoping a door will open.
“I’ve always liked driving, so I figured that I’d like to be able to make some money driving,” he said.
Since his wife’s been ill, he’s had to sell his home, mobile trailer and other assets to cover expenses. Now he says trucking is a practical solution for income.
“That would be the best way to do it,” he said.
And though it’s something he has to do, he’s pretty optimistic about trying something new.
“I believe I can do this pretty well, and it would be a nice challenge and it’d be fun,” he said.
Blocksom still has to pass his commercial driver’s licenses test for him to start working. His classes for that test start next month. He said the ideal shift would be local weekend trips, so he can still care for his wife.