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Since the mid-1990s there has been a dramatic shift in the part-time versus full-time status of the older workforce.
The ratio of part-time to full-time employment among older workers was relatively steady from 1977 to 1990. Between 1990 and 1995, part-time work among older workers began trending upward with a corresponding decline in full-time employment.
But after 1995, that trend began a marked reversal with full-time employment rising sharply. Between 1995 and 2007, the number of older workers on full-time work schedules nearly doubled while the number working part-time rose just 19 percent. As a result, full-timers now account for a majority among older workers: 56 percent in 2007, up from 44 percent in 1995.
These data are from the Current Population Survey program. To learn more, see "Older Workers," BLS Spotlight on Statistics, July 2008.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, More seniors working full time at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2008/aug/wk1/art03.htm (visited October 31, 2024).