GAO Publishes Report Older Workers

By Staff Writer

November 16, 2001 at 07:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, Nov. 16, 3:15 p.m. – The General Accounting Office has a published a report recommending that federal agencies find ways to extend the careers of older Americans who want to continue to work.

A copy of the report, which includes many tables and charts describing the characteristics of older workers, on the GAO Web site, at //www.gao.gov/new.items/d0285.pdf

One chart shows that workers over age 55 could make up as much as 19.6% of the U.S. labor force in 2015, up from 13.1% in 2000.

Other tables give occupational distribution data and average salary levels for older workers.

The tables show, for example, that workers over age 65 are much more likely than younger workers to have jobs in sales, administrative support or farming, and much less likely have jobs as technicians or machine operators.

An appendix reveals that half of the workers in the 65-74 age range who are executives or professionals are still working full time.

The median annual income for part-time and full-time executives in the 65-74 age range is $25,300. The median income for professionals in the same age range is $35,000.

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