Census: Higher Number of Older Employees Staying in the Workforce Past 65

Nearly one in four people between the ages of 65 and 74 were still in the labor force in 2006, the highest number in three years and an indication that fewer people are retiring when they hit the traditional retirement age, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS).

According to Census Bureau data, the number of workers between the ages of 65 and 74 still in the workforce in 2004 was 22 percent, compared to 22.5 percent in 2005 and 23.2 percent in 2006.

States with some of the lowest rates of older workers in the labor force include West Virginia (15.7 percent), Michigan (18.8 percent) and Arizona (19.4 percent); however, Michigan and Arizona were not statistically different. Some of the highest rates of older workers were found in South Dakota, Nebraska and Washington, D.C., all with about one-third of people in this age group in the labor force.