• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, September 16, 2009

According to one government estimate, says a  new nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends, 93% of the growth in the U.S. labor force from 2006 to 2016 will be among workers ages 55 and older. The Pew study notes that older adults are staying in the labor force longer, and younger adults are staying out of it longer. Both trends took shape about two decades ago, both have intensified during the current recession, and both are expected to continue after the economy recovers.

The survey finds that a majority of workers ages 65 and older say the main reason they work is that they want to. Attitudes also play an important role as well, says the report. In particular, the growing desire of an aging but healthy population to stay active well into the later years of life.

According to the Pew Research survey, nearly four-in-ten adults who are working past the median retirement age of 62 say they have delayed their retirement because of the recession. Among workers ages 50 to 61, fully 63% say they might have to push back their expected retirement date because of current economic conditions.

Reasons For Working (% of Respondents in Category)
Age Range	Need the Money	Want to Work	Both
16-64	49%	20%	31%
65 & older	17	54	27
Source: Pew Research Center, September 2009

When asked to identify specific reasons for working, older workers emphasize psychological and social factors:

• "to feel useful"
• "to give myself something to do"
• "to be with other people"

Younger and middle-aged workers are much more inclined to cite classic pocketbook considerations:

• "to support myself and my family"
• "to live independently"
• "to qualify for retirement benefits"
• "to receive health care benefits"

Reasons for Working by Age (% saying "big reason" for working; full or part time)
Big Reason for Working	% of Respondents in Age Group
Age 65 & Older
Feel useful/productive	68%
Live independently	59
Give myself something to do	57
To be with other people	56
Support myself/family	53
Help improve society	40
Qualify for pension/SS	35
Receive health benefits	21
Age 16-64
Support myself/family	88%
Live independently	78
Feel useful/productive	69
Qualify for pension/SS	65
Receive health benefits	57
Help improve society	48
Give myself something to do	40
To be with other people	35
Source: Pew Research Center, September 2009

All of these survey findings are consistent with a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data that show that the labor force participation rate of older adults, which declined from 1950 until the middle of the 1980s, has been rising ever since. This trend has accelerated during this decade, especially in the current recession.

Delayed Retirement Due to Recession (% of Respondents)
Segment	% of Segment
Age 50-61	63%
Age 62+	38
Men	54
Women	72
Source: Pew Research Center, September 2009

Even in an era of growing gender parity in the workplace, the work/family trade-off continues to be much more complicated for women than for men, says the survey. It finds that nonworking women are nine times as likely as nonworking men to family responsibility as a key reason for not having a job.

The labor force participation rate for men has declined in this decade to 72%, the lowest level in modern history. The current economic downturn has hit men harder than women, with men suffering about two-thirds of all recession-related job losses.

The Pew Research Center analysis of long-term trends in survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Pew Research's own survey, additional key findings include:

• By a ratio of nearly two-to-one, survey respondents say they would prefer a job that offers better security (59%) over one that offers higher pay (33%) but less stability
• Even in the face of widespread layoffs, pay freezes and involuntary furloughs, nine-in-ten employed adults say they are either completely (30%) or mostly (60%) satisfied with their job.
• 54% of workers ages 65 and older say they are "completely satisfied" with their job, compared with just 29% of workers ages 16 to 64. Explaining this, a high percentage of these workers are working because they want to, not because they need to
• 51% of all current retirees say they retired because they wanted to. 32% say they had to retire for health or other reasons, and 9% say their employer forced them to retire
• 57% say their retirement has turned out to be very satisfying; an additional 23% say it has been fairly satisfying. Only about one-in-six describe retirement as not satisfying
• 44% of the public say a part-time job is ideal for a mother, while 38% say the ideal situation is for her not to work outside the home at all
• 61% of mothers of young children who have a full-time job outside the home say they would prefer to work part time. By contrast, just 19% of fathers who have a full-time job and a young child say they would prefer to work part time.

For more about this report, please visit Pew here.