More older workers are in labor force

Older workers — those at least 55 — are staying in the labor force longer, according to a report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Forty percent of older workers were in the labor force in 2010 — a steady increase from 1993, when it was 30 percent, EBRI said.

A higher percentage of men are in the labor force — 46.4 percent — than women — 36.4 percent. The rate for women is a record, while the male rate hit its peak in 1975, when 49.4 percent were in the work force, EBRI said. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, the male rate gradually declined to below 40 percent, before it began steadily rising again.

The upward trend in older workers is likely to continue because of their need for access to employment-based health insurance, EBRI said.

Also, older workers need more earning years to accumulate assets in their 401(k) plans, EBRI said.

If you’re an older worker, are you planning to stay longer than you thought you would? Why?

To others in the workplace, do you think this is preventing your advancement? Or do you see older workers being treated unfairly or forced out the door?

- Henry Unger, The Biz Beat

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