2006 State Report > Economics > Labor Force and Employment
Economics: Labor Force and Employment
Workers aged 65 and older are increasingly choosing to remain in the labor force rather than retire. Factors such as decreased retirement benefits, rising health care costs, and the increase of grandparents raising grandchildren or caring for other relatives are contributing to this trend.
According to the 2004 American Community Survey, 14.1 percent of the population aged 65 and older was still in the labor force. Of the 69,103 seniors who were still in the labor force, 93.8 percent were employed and 6.2 percent were unemployed. In the 2000 Census, 13.5 percent of the population aged 65 and older was still in the labor force.
The labor force will be strongly affected over the next ten years by the aging of the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual growth rate of the 55-and-older population will be 4.1 percent between 2004 and 2014, or four times the growth rate of the overall labor force. During the same time period, the annual growth rate of the 25-to-54-year-old population will be only 0.3 percent. One consequence of this aging of the population is that there will be fewer young workers available to take the baby boomers' places in the workforce when they retire. In anticipation of this impending labor shortage, employers may have to become increasingly flexible in order to retain their older and more experienced employees.
Population in Labor Force by Age Groups: 2004
Source: 2004 American Community Survey, Table B23001.
The unemployment rate for older workers of all ages is lower than that for the total population. In 2004, the unemployment rate for the population aged 65 and older in the labor force was 6.2 percent. The unemployment rate was slightly higher for the total South Carolina population aged 16 and older in the labor force, at 7.5 percent.
Older workers often face barriers to employment not encountered by younger employees. One such problem is age discrimination, which may cause older workers to experience longer periods of unemployment when looking for a job or lower wages upon re-employment. In fiscal year 2003-04, the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission received 127 complaints of age discrimination.
Age Discrimination Complaints Received by the S.C. Human Affairs Commission in Fiscal Years 2000-2004
Source: South Carolina Human Affairs Commission.
Job displacement is another obstacle commonly faced by older employees. Workers may be displaced from their jobs due to a plant closing or relocation, insufficient work, or downsizing of their positions. Between 2001 and 2003, nearly 1.1 million workers aged 55 and older were displaced from their jobs. As of January 2004, only 52 percent of these displaced workers had found other employment.