Percentage of Older Americans in Workforce Remains High

February 16, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The percentage of older Americans (ages 55 or older) in the work force remained at its recent highs in 2011, according to a new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

The EBRI report, which examines the rates at which older workers participated in the work force before, during and after the recent economic recession, finds that the labor-force participation rate for those age 55 and older remained above its level before the economic downturn.

Specifically, the percentage of civilian noninstitutionalized Americans near or at retirement age (age 55 or older) has been rising steadily since 1993, when it stood at 29.4%, reaching 40.2% in 2010 (it remained at that level in 2011).

The EBRI analysis finds that for those ages 55–64, this trend is almost exclusively due to the increase of women in the work force; the male workforce participation rate is flat to declining.

For men ages 55 and older, the labor force participation rate grew from 1975 to 2010, before flattening out or slightly decreasing to 46.3% in 2011. Among women age 55 and older, the labor force participation rate grew from 22.8% in 1993 to 35.1% in 2010, its highest level, where it remained in 2011. In contrast to males, female labor-force participation rates for those ages 55–59 and 60–64 increased sharply from 1975–2011.