Older Americans Double Workforce Participation, Earning Higher Wages

Increased diversity, longer hours, and higher education levels contribute to the rise in older workers' earnings and participation in the workforce.

According to a new Pew Research Center report, 19% of U.S. adults 65 and older were employed in 2023, nearly double the share that worked in 1987.
The older workforce has grown more racially and ethnically diverse, and women comprise a larger share of older workers.
Older workers are earning more, with the typical worker who is 65 or older earning $22 an hour in 2022, up from an average of $13 an hour in 1987.
Older workers are putting in more hours on the job on average than in past decades, with 62% of older workers working full time in 2023, up from 47% in 1987.
Older workers are more likely to have four-year degrees than in years past, with about 44% of older workers having earned a bachelor’s degree or more in 2023, up from 18% in 1987.