JOBS A GRAY AREA
Seniors in workforce longer now
Look out, youngster. Grandma or Grandpa may be elbowing you out of the way for that job.
Indeed, the elderly labor participation rate is setting records, according to recent research.
“More older Americans — those 65 and over — are working than at any time since the turn of the century,” reports the Pew Research Center. Today’s older workers are “spending more time on the job than their peers in previous years,” the Pew study said.
This senior workforce growth has been taking place in a period when overall labor participation rates have been in decline.
During the past decade, the overall labor participation rate — those eligible for work who have a job or are seeking one — has declined from 65.8 percent in August 2007 to 62.9 percent last month, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The trend of more gray hairs seeking work or working is projected to continue. The number is “expected to increase fastest for the oldest segments of the population, people ages 65 to 74 and older — through 2024,” according to Mitra Toossi, a BLS economist.
This will come, BLS officials added, at the same time that labor participation rates for other groups will rise by single digits or, in some cases, see a decline. The recent trend of the elderly working reverses a long-term slide in senior worker participation rates.
“In 1985, 10.8 percent of the 65plus population was working full or part time or looking for work. As of last month, after incremental gains virtually every year over the past three decades or so, the percentage stood at 19.2 percent,” says Erik Kriss, an AARP spokesman.
Kriss added, “Every indication is that percentage will pass 20 percent in the next few years.”
A longtime entertainer, writer, actress and radio host is one of those who will probably help the trend push past the 20 percent level.
“I’ll work until I die. I want to work to the last breath,” says Manhattan resident Gilda Miros, who is about to turn 79.
The eclectic career of this celebrated Puerto Rican movie/theater actress and documentary producer goes on and on. Miros is the author of 10 books, including “Mis Mejores Entrevistas de Radio” (My Best Radio Interviews).
Miros looks forward to plenty of work. “It’s not over until it’s over. And even then, it really isn’t over.”
She is also working on a Broadway play for next year, “De La Montana de Venimos” (We Come from the Mountain). It is a play that explores Latin America’s musical heritage.
Miros is also part of the Performing Actors Legacy (PAL), which has research showing that most elderly performers have a very good quality of life because they “experience gratification” in performing their arts.
Why are there more senior dynamos like Gilda Miros?
BLS officials say the elderly today aren’t what they were a generation ago. The elderly are generally healthier and have longer life expectancies than previous generations.
“They are better educated, which increases their likelihood of staying in the labor force,” says Elka Torpey, another BLS economist. She adds that “work in general has become more sedentary, allowing older workers to continue in the labor force.”