Pew Researchers Find Delayed Retirement of Older Workers Does Not Harm Younger Workers

The Pew Charitable Trusts have published an issue brief exploding the he "lump-of-labor" theory, which holds to the notion that younger and older workers are engaged in a zero-sum game for a fixed number of jobs. Instead, according to "When Baby Boomers Delay Retirement,
Do Younger Workers Suffer?," there is no evidence that employment by Baby Boomers negatively impacted the labor force activity of younger workers.

Among other things, the brief reports that:

• an increase in older workers’ employment has been associated with an increase in younger workers’ employment rate and hours worked;
• this relationship between older and younger workers’ labor force behavior also holds true within states;
• this relationship does not vary by education level or by gender; and
• older workers’ employment has no negative impact on the hourly wages or annual incomes of youth.

Source: Pew Charitable Trusts Research Analysis (September 13, 2012)