The Census Bureau released a new report Tuesday showing the number of Americans
working beyond retirement age increased by nearly 50 percent between 1980 and
2002, the Associated Press reports.
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customized information for your industry, location, and job.
Get Your Report Now!There were about 4.5 million people aged 65 or older who were working or seeking
work in the United States in 2002. About 13.2 percent of all seniors were in the workforce. By contrast, about 3 million Americans over the age
of 65 were in the workforce in 1980. In that year, 12.6 percent of seniors were in the workforce.
The AP notes that greater numbers of older workers are staying in the workforce
because some want to keep working and others are remaining due to concerns about
Social Security, healthcare costs and economic conditions that hit their retirement
savings.
"People are more nervous now than they were a year ago," Edward Coyle,
executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, tells the AP. "You
have lots of folks approaching retirement age, scratching their heads and wondering
if they can do it."
Experts also tell the AP that more seniors in the workforce now because more
Americans are living longer, healthier lives and more women are returning to
the workforce after raising children.
Sales work was the most popular job for seniors in the workforce in 2002, the
AP reports.
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