Older Americans are a growing portion of the labor force

Older workers are contribute more for the economy than ever.

Most baby boomers — members of the second-largest generation in the U.S. — are now 65 or older, qualifying them as “older workers” if they’re still working, according to a Pew Research study Released Thursday (Dec. 13). Boomers chose to stay in the workforce rather than retire, thanks in part to changes in Social Security benefits that raised the retirement age to 67 for workers born after 1960. In addition, many people who retired early during the pandemic returned to work starting late in 2021.

The generation drifted big growth in the share of older workers in the labor force. In 2023, the older workforce will quadruple the size it was in the mid-1980s, the study found. About one in five Americans over 65 were employed in 2023.

The rise of “age-friendly” jobs with more flexibility and less strenuous physical work involved, this group also helped stay in the labor market, Pew noted. These senior employees work more hours than in the past: 62% of older workers are employed full-time, up from 47% in 1987. And they are expected to account for nearly 60% of all labor force growth over the next decade, according to the study.

Because of their sheer numbers, longer hours and a narrower wage gap between old and young workers, senior Americans are contributing more to the economy than they did 35 years ago. Older workers’ earnings accounted for 7% of all wages and salaries paid by American employers this year, up from just 2% in the 1980s.

Older workers by the numbers

11 million: The number of older workers in the US labor force.

62%: The share of employees over 65 working full-time (defined as 35 hours per week or more).

$58,600: The average annual earnings of older workers, about 25% less than that of workers aged 25 to 64.

75%: The share of employees over 65 who are white. Younger cohorts in the workforce are more diverse, although most of them (59%) are white. However, the share of Black and Hispanic workers in both groups has been increasing since the 1980s.

95 million: The number of Americans who will be 65 or older by 2060.