As baby boomers reach retirement age they continue to have a profound effect on the face the workplace. Recent reports show that more and more baby boomers are choosing to continue to stay in the workforce as they approach retirement, making the workforce not only older, but also limiting the number of job opportunities open to younger workers.
According to data from the Census Bureau about one out of every eight Americans is currently 65 or older. Of that group a little more than 16% have chosen to remain in the workplace. That’s up significantly from 1990, when only 12% of seniors were working.
The number is even higher for seniors between the ages of 65 and 69, a group sometimes referred to as “young” seniors. About 31% of people in this age range were still working as of 2010, a percentage that had increased from 22% in 1990.
The Census Bureau also reports that while there are more senior men working, the number of senior women in the workforce has also increased. In 1990 about 8.4% of senior women stayed in the workforce after retirement age, a percentage that increased to 12.5% in 2010. 21% of senior men, on the other hand, remained working in 2010, a number that has increased from 17.6% in 1990.
These numbers are significant because boomers are not only deciding to keep working, but also because they are becoming an increasingly large percentage of the population. By 2040, the Census Bureau estimates that one out of every five people in the United States will be a senior citizen.
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