In 2011, he founded University Research & Review LLC, which has two websites that help students select from among smaller colleges and now has four full-time and seven part-time employees.

“I am tired of boating,” said Schmoke, who started his business in the Boca Raton research park. “I don’t play golf. I am in good health. I want and have the energy and need to do something. We can have a positive effect and probably make a little money too.”

Working Longer

The increase is part of a trend of older Americans working longer. Sixty-five percent of those ages 55 to 64 were working or seeking a job in 2012, up from 56 percent in 1992. By contrast, the workforce participation rate for those under 45 has fallen over the past two decades, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

More plan to work past the traditional retirement age of 65 as well. About half of all workers aren’t confident they will have enough money to retire, a survey by Washington-based Employee Benefit Research Institute found in March.

A pickup in new ventures by older Americans could help overall job creation. Research by economics professor John Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland in College Park found that start-ups and young firms account for a disproportionate share of job creation, exhibiting what he calls an “up or out” dynamic -- they either grow fast or they fail.

For many entrepreneurs, their companies are as much in response to a lack of jobs matching their skills as about an effort to strike it rich.

No Biases

“If you are laid off from a decent job, if you start your own business you don’t have to worry about the biases of any personnel office as it looks over applicants’ resumes,” said Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and former economist at the U.S. Labor Department.

Kinsey formed his business nine months after losing a job as a wellness director for a physical therapy company in November 2010, when the U.S. unemployment rate was 9.8 percent. That was close to the 10 percent high reached in October 2009, after the 18-month recession ended in June that year. After not finding good-paying opportunities, he started planning an alternative.