My post on this topic
has generated a lot of interest—and a request for a breakdown by age and sex.
What a good question. This table gives us insight as to whether we as individuals might be working past “retirement
age” (there is no such thing, by law, except for pilots and such).
So, look it over [CLICK ON IT] and
feel free to comment on FB or privately.
My take?
First, notice the
gray vertical bars. They stand for periods of recession. I would have thought recessions
would affect the labor force participation rate. If you’re unemployed in a soft
labor market, you might drop out altogether in the labor force.
But the trends all
seem to shrug off this factor.
Older people are in
the dotted lines near the bottom (men are blue, women are red). Both groups have rising
participation rates, going back for 20 years.
Is this due to
declining pensions and pension security? Maybe. Is it due to seeking a social
connection via work? Maybe. Is it due to seeking health insurance? Maybe. Are
there other factors? Maybe.
Another trend that
catches my eye: The rate for men (all ages) has been dropping, down from 95% in
the 1950s to 85% today. That might suggest why Donald Trump resonates among
this group. Fifteen percent of about 160 million American men (ages 16-64) who have dropped out of
working is a really big number.
Dig in… think about
it... and share.
Thanks to Jim for
asking!
No comments:
Post a Comment