Older Americans to dominate growth in labor force by 2016

Tom Barlow
Updated

You know that gray-haired gentleman who greets you when you enter Wal-Mart? Get used to him; he is the wave of the future. According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, over the next 10 years the age dispersion of the American labor force will skew considerably older.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2016:

  • The number of people in the labor force ages 16-24 will actually drop by 1.5 million

  • Those falling in the 25-54 age bracket will increase by 2.5 million

  • Those falling in the 55+ age group will increase by 11.9 million. Those 55-64 will increase by 7.3 million, while those 65-74 will go up 3.6 million

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