America’s labor force is aging. After decades of decline following the end of World War II, labor force participation rates at older ages leveled off and then began to increase. The increase has been greater for older women, who are a growing proportion of the ages 50-plus labor force.
The composition of the total labor force has changed. Older workers—workers ages 50 and older—are playing a much larger role. Higher labor force participation rates among women of all ages, and the growing role of minorities in the labor force, have also changed the face of America’s labor force over the past several decades.
