Reply #52: Older Work Force Has an Ugly Wrinkle [View All]

[Demeter]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465773596037574.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Summertime, and the living is easy…for many, too easy. This July was the worst on record for youth employment: Less than half of all 16- to 24-year-olds had a job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Add in those who were looking for a job and the overall labor-force participation rate, at 60.5%, was also the worst for any July since 1948.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, more than 40% of over-55s have work or are looking for it, the highest share since JFK was in office.

The graying of America's work force is a fact of (longer) life. But it is amplified by changing work habits among different age groups.

In the last economic upswing, lasting six years starting in November 2001, a net 10.4 million jobs were created. Almost one in seven were for workers 55 or older. In the period since November 2007, when the latest recession began, 7.4 million jobs have disappeared. For over-55s, though, a net 1.8 million jobs have been added in that time....