Pew Research: Labor Force Trends: Older Workers Increase, Younger Workers Decrease
By John Riley
As the U.S. labor force grows between 2006 and 2016, 93% of that growth (11.9 million) will be from workers ages 55 and older says one government estimate. This is attributed to many gray and aging Americans who are healthy and active. They want to be productive and feel useful well into their later years.
Younger Americans, between the ages of 16 and 24, are a declining share of the labor force with 57% today versus 66% in 2000. However, a rising share of this age group are in school.
There are two factors that help explain these changes. First, is a belief in the need for a college education to be successful. Nearly 75% of the public feels this way now versus 49% in 1978.
Second, is the impact of the recession on young people. Many are believed to have dropped out of the job market.
This, and other findings about America’s changing work force, come from a new national survey, Pew Research Center’s Social and Demographic Trends project.
Other results:
— the number of women who have a job or are seeking one is no longer growing, but holding at 59%.
That’s a change after five decades of growth. Men rank about 13% higher.
— most working mothers and only 19% of men prefer part time jobs.
Pew based its findings on data obtained from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
