The brief’s key findings are:
- Over the past 25 years, the labor force participation of men age 60-74 jumped from 35 percent to 44 percent.
- At the same time, the educational levels of older workers increased dramatically in both absolute terms and relative to prime-age workers.
- Better educated workers are healthier and have more opportunities.
- Indeed, the analysis suggests that rising education levels account for more than half of the increase in labor force participation.
- Going forward, gains in education by older workers will slow considerably, which will slow further increases in their labor force participation.