The American workforce is aging. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median age of the American labor force was nearly 42 years old in 2022, up from 40 years old in 2002. Nineteen percent of adults ages 65 and older are currently employed, compared to 11 percent in 1987. Further, workers aged 75 and up are the fastest-growing labor demographic. Americans can begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62 and full benefits at 66, but workers are waiting longer to retire.
The country’s leaders are similarly delaying retirement. Presidential candidates Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 78, are working well past what is considered retirement age. The average national legislator in the US is 61 and the average age on the Supreme Court is over 63. Given the ages of these leaders, a majority of Americans now favor maximum age limits for elected officials and Supreme Court justices; the Biden age story has only accelerated since his disastrous debate performance.
Comments