Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends
September 16, 2009 - RL30629
As the members of the "baby boom" generation--people born between 1946 and 1964--approach retirement, the demographic profile of the U.S. workforce will undergo a substantial shift as a large number of older workers will be joined by relatively few new entrants to the labor force. According to the Census Bureau, there will be 204 million Americans aged 25 or older in 2010. By 2030, this number will increase by 23% to more than 251 million. Most of this growth will occur among people aged 65 and older. The Census Bureau estimates that while the number of people between the ages of 25 and 64 will increase by 15.5 million (9.4%) between 2010 and 2030, the number of people aged 65 and older is projected to grow by 31.7 million, or 79.2%. Labor force participation begins to fall after age 55. In 2008, 91% of men and 76% of women aged 25 to 54 participated in the labor force. In contrast, just 70% of men and 59% of women aged 55 to 64 were either working or looking for work in 2008. Labor force participation among persons aged 55 and older is influenced by general economic conditions, eligibility for Social Security ...