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Employment Status of Workers Ages 55 or Older, 1987-2008

This paper examines the employment status (full time, part time, or part year) of workers ages 55 or older using the latest March Current Population Survey data. The data show that the percentage of these older workers working full time, full year increased steadily from 1993-2007, before decreasing during the recession year of 2008 as employers shed jobs and the national unemployment rate climbed. Consequently, while members of the older population were more likely to work, they were less likely to be working full time, full year in 2008 after consistent increases through 2007. A growing percentage of older Americans are in the labor force: The percentage of those ages 55 or older in the labor force increased from 29.4 percent in 1993 to 39.4 percent in 2008. For those ages 65-69, the percentage increased from 18.4 percent in 1985 to 30.7 percent in 2006. These trends mark a significant change in behavior for individuals in these age groups, and are likely driven by their need to obtain affordable employment-based health insurance and to accumulate retirement savings. The employment status of workers age 55 or older has significantly moved toward full-time, full-year work – with a corresponding decline in part-time, part-year work – over the 21-year period from 1987 to 2008. This trend was found across all groups age 55 or older, all race/ethnicity categories, and all educational levels. Younger near-elderly/elderly workers were far more likely to be working full time, full year, but older workers had larger percentage-point increases in full-time, full-year work from 1987 to 2008. The full-time, full-year work trend is more closely examined across various demographic categories.The PDF for the above title, published in the March 2010 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another March 2010 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers.”