PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. workforce includes more seniors and fewer younger workers than it did in 2010, just after the recession officially ended, a private survey found.
Since 2010, the percentage of those aged 65 or older in the workforce has grown by three percentage points, the survey company Gallup said.
In 2010, 9 percent of those 65 or older were employed full time. In 2013, that had risen to 12 percent, Gallup said in a study released Thursday.
In a separate study, conducted by the Heritage Foundation, Gallup said it was found that those age 16-24 years old who remained out of the workforce due to school rose 4.5 percent from 2007 to 2012.
The decline was sharpest among those with educations that went as far as high school or less.
Gallup said workforce participation by 18-29-year-olds without college degrees shrank by 2 percent points from 2010 through 2013.
"This may be explained by the inability of some in this group to find work or by their simply seeking more schooling," Gallup said.
Gallup said the survey results come from a random sample of 264,670 interviews with adults conducted from Jan. 1, 2010 through Sept. 24, 2013.
Included in the surveys were 37,406 respondents aged 18 to 29 and 77,108 respondents aged 65 or older, Gallup said.
The margin of error in the survey, it can be said with 95 percent certainty, is plus or minus 1 percentage points, Gallup said.
