Older Workers Projected To Be 25% of Labor Force

The workforce is getting older as the Baby-Boom generation ages. Workers aged 55 or older will account for one in four workers by 2029, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics' projections, nearly double the share in 1999...

Workers aged 55-plus as a share of the labor force
1999: 12.7%
2009: 18.8%
2019: 23.5%
2029: 25.2%

In 17 states, workers aged 55-plus already account for 25 percent or more of the labor force, according to a BLS analysis of 2019 data. The states with the largest shares of older workers are Vermont (28.8 percent), Maine (28.7 percent), and New Hampshire (28.3 percent). The New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are also above 25 percent, as are the Middle Atlantic states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Florida, of course, ranks among states with the oldest labor force. But so does Hawaii. The remaining states that make the list are Iowa, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections