More than a quarter of Americans are working well past retirement age, often in jobs that require 20th century skills, according to an analysis by personal finance website ValuePenguin.com.
The labor force participation rate for the 65 to 74 age group, the data showed, has increased by nine percentage points, from 18% to 27%, in the past 20 years. And the participation rate for Americans over 75 nearly doubled from 4.7% in 1998 to 8.7% in 2018.
These seniors, the study found, are concentrated in industries such as leather goods repair, funeral homes and religious organizations. In fact, nearly one-third of footwear and leather goods repairs workers are older than 65. Not far behind are older workers in the funeral home industry, at 28%. Moreover, 47% of those trained as embalmers and funeral attendants are past retirement age, the data showed.
The research was conducted to identify where seniors are working and why they may be delaying retirement. Researchers used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018 Current Population Survey in conjunction with U.S. Census Bureau 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Population 65 years and over in the United States). A total of 60,000 households were studied.
Other areas in which seniors are occupying jobs are animal production and aquaculture with 19.8%; gift, novelty and souvenir shops at 18.6%; religious organizations with 17.8%; personal and household goods repair and maintenance at 16.7%; used merchandise store at 16.6%; crop production at 16.3%; retail florists with 16% and rounding out the top 10 are barbers with 14.6%.
The report noted that men outnumbered women working into traditional retirement years. It showed nearly 32% of men between the ages of 65 and 74 were in the labor force in 2018, compared with 23% of women.
As for where these senior workers are located, Washington D.C., had the highest proportion of working seniors among the largest 100 cities with roughly 25%; Bridgeport, Conn., followed with 24%; Boston was third with 23%; Omaha, Neb., followed with 22%; Austin, Dallas and Salt Lake City, Utah each came in at 21%; Denver followed with 20.7%; Houston came it at 20.4%; and San Francisco rounded out the top 10 at 20%.
Not surprisingly, the cities with the lowest percentage of working seniors are traditionally well-known retirement communities, the report pointed out. Topping the list is Augusta, Ga.; Palm Bay, Fla.; Deltona, Fla.; Bakersfield, Calif.; and McAllen, Texas, rounded out the top five.