Fifty-three percent of Americans age 50 and older say that people staying in the workforce past 65 is a plus for the national economy, and 50% say it is good for American workers in general.
Younger Americans, however, are less positive about this trend: 38% consider it good for the economy, and 30 percent say it is good for American workers, according to a recent survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
And at a time when many Americans must work longer, age is increasingly seen as an employment hinderance—even among older employees themselves.
Fifty-eight percent of Americans over age 50 say older workers face discrimination in the workplace, and 75% consider their own age to be a detriment when looking for a job.
In addition, among workers age 50 and older, about a fifth feel they have been passed over for promotion or raises due to their age. Only 6% of older adults say their age is an advantage.
The findings of the 2019 Working Longer Survey reflect the effects of a growing trend, which started in the 1990s, of U.S. workers who are delaying retirement.
Since 2005, older workers—defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as 55 years and older—have made up a larger share of the labor force than those age 16 to 24.
“As more and more workers in the United States continue to put off retiring past the traditional age of 65, they report feeling the consequences of age bias in both their current positions and as they look for jobs,” Trevor Tompson, director of The AP-NORC Center said in a statement. “What’s interesting is at the same time, 45 percent of Americans say the trend of working longer is beneficial to the national economy, and 39 percent say it’s good for workers in general.”
Women age 50 and older are especially inclined to regard their age as a hindrance when job seeking. Seventy-nine percent of women and 70 percent of men age 50 and older say their age hampers their job search.
Other key findings include
- While about half of all adults say older workers frequently face age discrimination at work, only about a fifth say younger workers experience age discrimination.
- Younger workers are more likely to request accommodations like flextime or working remotely than are older workers. Forty-four percent of workers under age 50 have requested flexible hours. Working women age 18 to 29 are most likely to ask for flextime.
- Thirty-three percent of all workers say the working longer trend is good for their career, and 46% regard it as a positive for their workplace culture.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
