Unemployment and Older Workers Drive Competition in Labor Market

About 74 percent of Americans say they plan to work past age 65, according to a May study by economists Jay Bryson and Sarah Watt of Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thirty-nine percent said they need to earn to make ends meet or maintain their lifestyle, and 35 percent wanted to stay employed.

“Many seniors simply aren’t in a position to retire,” said Watt, whose research was based on a Wells Fargo retirement survey done in 2011. “More people are hanging on to the job longer,” she said, as a result of the recession and some longer-term trends.

Job Outlook

The job outlook may take time to improve as the world’s largest economy isn’t growing fast enough. Payrolls in May grew at the slowest pace in a year and joblessness has topped 8 percent for 40 consecutive months.

Many seniors take part-time, temporary and lower-paying positions to remain in the workforce. Since 2010, those age 55 and older are outpacing prime-age workers in holding multiple jobs, a Bloomberg review of Labor Department data shows.

There’s “more competition per opening,” said Watt, particularly in stores or fast-food restaurants where younger workers vie for positions that demand few skills and little experience, she said. Joblessness among 16 to 24-year-olds was 16.1 percent in May, about double the 8.2 percent rate for the nation…

via Older Workers in U.S. Drive Competition in Labor Market – Bloomberg.