South Carolina: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on South Carolina, the 14th state to be released in the series. Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in South Carolina: 2004":

• 14.9% of workers were 55 and older, while 3.3% were 65 and older;
• statewide, the educational services industry had the highest proportion of or workers 55 and older, with 21.7% of its workers in that age group, followed by the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (20.7%) and real estate and rental
  and leasing (20.5%) industries; and
• the state's manufacturing industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 19.9% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (August 27, 2008)

Oklahoma: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Oklahoma, the 13th state to be released in the series. Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Oklahoma: 2004":

• 14.5% of workers were 55 and older, while 3.4% were 65 and older;
• statewide, the educational services industry had the highest proportion of or workers 55 and older, with 21.1% of its workers in that age group; and
• the state's health care and social assistance industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 15.9% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (August 14, 2008)

Kentucky: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Kentucky, the 12th state to be released in the series.Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Kentucky: 2004":

• 12.8% of workers were 55 and older, while 2.7% were 65 and older;
• statewide, the educational services industry had the highest proportion of or workers 55 and older, but no industry had more than 20% of its workers in that age group; and
• the state's manufacturing industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 19.3% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (July 14, 2008)

Maryland: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Maryland, the 11th state to be released in the series.Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Maryland: 2004":

• 14.6% of workers were 55 and older, while 3.4% were 65 and older;
• the mining industry was the only industry to have more than 20% of its workers 55 and over (20.6%); in metropolitan areas, the educational services industry had the the largest percentage of workers 55 and older (25.5%); and
• the state's health care and social services industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 15.2% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (June 19, 2008)

New Jersey: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on New Jersey, the tenth state to be released in the series.Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in New Jersey: 2004":

• 16.6% of workers were 55 and older, while 4.0% were 65 and older;
• the mining industry had the highest proportion of workers 55 and over (22.2%), followed by manufacturing (21.1%), educational services (21.0%), and real estate and rental and leasing (20.8%); and
• the state's health care and social services industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 14.8% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (May 27, 2008)

Wisconsin: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Wisconsin, the ninth state to be released in the series.Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Wisconsin: 2004":

• 14.3% of workers were 55 and older, while 3.2% were 65 and older;
• the real estate and rental and leasing industry had the highest proportion of workers 55 and over (19.6%), and no individual industry employed more than 20% of workers who were over 55; and
• the state's manufacturing industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 22.7% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (April 1, 2008)

Colorado: Census Bureau Issues Profiles of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Colorado, the eighth state to be released in the series.Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Colorado: 2004":

• 13.2% of workers were 55 and older, while 2.9% were 65 and older;
• the utilities industry had the highest proportion of workers 55 and over (19.9%), and no individual industry employed more than 20% of workers who were over 55; and
• the state's retail trade industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 13.9% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (April 1, 2008)

Additional Source: Rocky Mountain News "Work force in Colorado graying around the edges" (April 8, 2008)

Delaware: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Delaware, the seventh state to be released in the series. Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Delaware: 2004":

• 15% of workers were 55 and older, while 3.4% were 65 and older;
• the educational services industry had the highest proportion of workers 55 and over (22.3%), followed closely by arts, entertainment and recreation (22.1%); and
• the state's retail trade industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 16% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

The Census Bureau also states that reports on Colorado, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Maryland and Kentucky are tentatively scheduled to be released over the next month or two.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau News Release (February 11, 2008)

Hawaii: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Hawaii, the sixth state to be released in the series. Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004":

• 15.9% of workers were 55 and older, while 3.6% were 65 and older; and
• the state's hotel and food service industries employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 15% of the workers 55 and older being in these two sectors.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau News Release (November 26, 2007)

Other Sources: Hawaii Advertiser "Hawaii employers fret over aging workforce" (November 27, 2007)

Arkansas: Census Burerau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Arkansas, the fifth state to be released in the series. Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Arkansas: 2004":

• 14.3% of the workers in 2004 were 55 and older and 3.1% of the workers were 65 and older; and
• of the 75 counties in Arkansas 20% or more of the workforce in three counties was 55 or older in 2004.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau News Release (November 8, 2007)

Other Sources: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette "No rocking chair just yet for many" (November 25, 2007)

Indiana: Census Bureau Releases Profile of Older Workers

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Indiana, the fourth state to be released in the series. Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Indiana: 2004":

• of the 92 counties in Indiana, one county--Ohio County--had 20% total 55 or older;
• statewide, 14.4% of workers were 55 and older;
• 90 counties experienced an increase from 2001 to 2004 in the percentage of the county workforce that was 55 and older;
• among industry sectors that employed 100 or more workers 55 and older, educational services had the highest proportion of workers in this age group.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau News Release (October 15, 2007)

Census Bureau Releases Profile of Older Workers in Vermont

The Census Bureau, under the federal-state Local Employment Dynamics (LED) partnership, has launched a series of reports on workers 55 and older for more than 30 states. Vermont is the third state to be released, to be followed by Indiana, Arkansas and Hawaii. The Vermont report is available online.

Source: Census Bureau What's New (September 20, 2007)

United States: Census Figures Show More Older Workers

According to the American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, nationally, 23.2% of people between the ages of 65 and 74 were in the labor force (either working or looking for work) in 2006--an increase from 19.6% in 2000.

On a regional basis, states with some of the lowest rates of older workers in the labor force included West Virginia (15.7%), Michigan (18.8%) and Arizona (19.4%), while some of the highest rates 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.

Among the 20 largest metro areas, Washington, D.C., had the highest percentage of people in the labor force in this age group (31.8%), followed by Boston (28.1%), Dallas-Fort Worth (27.9%), Minneapolis-St. Paul (27.4%), and Houston (26.5%).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau News Release (September 12, 2007)

Related Stories: Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Census: Retirement age doesn't mean 65" (September 12, 2007); Washington Post "Area Leads Nation in Putting Off Retirement" (September 12, 2007)

United States: Census Bureau Begins Releasing State-by-State Profiles of Older Workers

The U.S. Census Bureau, in partnership with Iowa, has released the first in what will be a series of 31 reports on older workers that presents a detailed picture for people 55 and older in the work force in different states. Individual reports will present data at the county and metropolitan area levels for 2004, based on data from the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) program.

In this first report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Iowa: 2004", the Census Bureau highlights the age composition of the state’s work force, job gains and losses for older workers by industry, industries in which older workers are concentrated and their job stability and earnings. For example, data presented for industries in which older workers are concentrated shows that workers age 55 and older are the most visible in the manufacturing industry, accounting for 18.3% of the workforce and this industry was ranked number one in 48 of Iowa's 99 counties.

Source: Census Bureau News Release (June 18, 2007)

Census Bureau Highlights Dramatic Changes in U.S.Aging

The U.S. Censusu Bureau has issued a report commissioned by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, that shows that today’s older Americans are very different from their predecessors, living longer, having lower rates of disability, achieving higher levels of education and less often living in poverty. Among other things. according to "65+ in the United States: 2005", the proportion of Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree grew five-fold from 1950 to 2003, from 3.4% to 17.4% and by 2030, more than one-fourth of the older population is expected to have an undergraduate degree.

Work and retirement was a major focus of the economics section of the report, including such topics as labor force participation rights, transitions to retirement, the work status of older workers, the health, wealth, and education of older workers, reasons for retirement, retirement preparedness, and retirement of the baby boom generation.

Source: Press Release US Census Bureau (March 9, 2006)

Census Bureau Issues Study of Older Workers in Pennsylvania

The U.S. Census Bureau has issued a report--A Profile of Older Workers in Pennsylvania (PDF)--finding that, in 2002, about 37% of working Pennsylvanians were age 45 or older, an increase from 33% in 1998. The share of the Keystone State’s workers who were age 65 or older increased slightly over the period, from about 3% to 3.4%. Other highlights of the report indicated that in several industries (local and suburban transit, apparel manufacturing, textile mill products, real estate and educational services), more than 1-in-5 workers were 55 or older and that workers 65 or older were most likely to be employed in 2002 in health services, business services, wholesale trade of durable goods, and food stores.

Source: News Release U.S. Census Bureau (May 10, 2005)

Census Bureau Issues Study of Older Workers in Colorado

The U.S. Census Bureau has issued a report--A Profile of Older Workers in Colorado (PDF)--finding that, in 2002, about 33 percent of working Coloradans were age 45 or older, an increase from 24 percent in 1994. The share of the Centennial State's workers who were age 65 or older increased slightly over the period, from about 1.9 percent to 2.7 percent. The analysis of Colorado's older work force is the result of a new program called Local Employment Dynamics (LED) that was created in a partnership between the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the Census Bureau.

Source: News Release US Newswire (February 16, 2005)