WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Tough economic times are aging the U.S. labor force as older workers stay in jobs and younger workers, unable to find work, stay in school, a survey found.
"The recession appears to be ... keeping older adults in the labor force and younger ones out of it," the study by the independent Pew Research Center in Washington said.
The survey highlights U.S. labor market shifts due to longer life spans, an aging baby boomer population and a souring economy that has made it harder to retire.
Nearly 4 in 10 adults working past the median retirement age of 62 said they put off retirement because of the recession, the study found.
Sixty-three percent of those ages 50 to 61 said they would probably not retire because of the recession, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the study found.
The proportion of Americans 55 and older working or seeking a job rose to 40 percent this year, the highest level since 1961, Pew's analysis of government data indicated.
By contrast, the share of people ages 16 to 24 active in the labor market fell to 57 percent from 66 percent in 2000, the analysis found.
Pew's English and Spanish telephone survey of 1,815 people was taken July 20 through Aug. 2. Its margin of error is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points for all respondents except the 16-to-24 age group, where it is plus or minus 5.3 percentage points.
