Full-Time Status of U.S. Workers Over 65 Still Rising
A dramatic shift since the mid-1990s has caused the percentage of U.S. workers who are 65 or older and working full time to nearly double since 1995, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. This trend, along with a slower U.S. economy, illustrates why teenagers in many cities found it harder to land summer jobs this year.
BLS said the ratio of part-time to full-time employment among the older workers was relatively steady from 1977 through 1990, when part-time work began increasing. But it reversed after 1995, with full-time employment rising sharply.
"Between 1995 and 2007, the number of older workers on full-time work schedules nearly doubled while the number working part-time rose just 19 percent. As a result, full-timers now account for a majority among older workers: 56 percent in 2007, up from 44 percent in 1995," according to BLS, which is a unit of the U.S. Department of Labor.