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Employment and E c o n o m i c Status of Older M e n a n d W o m e n Bulletin No. 1213 December 1956 (Revision of Bulletin No. 1092) U N IT E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F LA B O R J a m e s P. M i t c h e l l , Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS E w a n C l a g u e , C o m m issio n er Employment and E c o n o m i c Status of Older M e n a n d W o m e n Bulletin No. 1213 December 1956 (Revision of Bulletin No. 1092) U N IT E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F L A B O R J a m e s P. M i t c h e l l , Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS E w a n C l a g u e , C o m m iss io n e r For sale by the Superintendent o f Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D . C. - Price 20 cents IN T R O D U C T O R Y N O T E A t the request o f the Senate Committee on L a b o r and P u b lic W e l fare o f the 84th Congress, the Departm ent o f L a b o r through its Bureau o f L a b o r Statistics has brought up to date, and in certain sections, amplified a bulletin o f that Bureau originally published in 1952. I t presents current and historical data on the employment and economic status o f older men and women in the U n ited States. I t is designed to contribute to inform ed understanding o f the effect o f population, employment, and economic trends on the older age groups m the population, and especially in the labor force. The data have been selected with a view to providin g background information fo r persons concerned with the economic ana employment problems o f the agin g in our population. D ata have been presented separately fo r men and women, wherever possible, in order to reveal significant similarities and differences in their economic status and employment experience. The long-term trend tow ard higher labor force participation among adult women, particularly those aged 45 and over, requires increasing awareness o f their special problems. Published and unpublished materials from a variety ox sources have been used in the compilation. The principal sources, in addition to the Bureau o f L a b o r Statistics, were the Bureau o f the Census, the Social Security Adm inistration, the R ailroad Retirement B oard, and the Department o f L a b o r ’s Bureau o f Em ploym ent Security. The cooperation and suggestions o f the W om en ’s Bureau have been partic ularly helpful. The Bureau o f L a b o r Statistics acknowledges with appreciation the data made available by other agencies. This edition o f Em ploym ent and Economic Status o f O ld er Men and W om en was produced in the Division of M anpow er and E m p lo y ment Statistics, under the direction o f Raym ond D . Larson, Chief, Branch of Em ploym ent and L a b o r Force Analysis, assisted by Samuel H . Thompson, Sophia Cooper, Stuart H . Garfinkle, and M argaret S. Thompson. The first edition (M a y 1952) was prepared by Helen H . R inge with the assistance o f Sophia Cooper. in C O N TEN TS Page Population tren ds___________________________________________________________________ Increases in num ber and proportion o f older p ersons____________________ Population estim ates, 1 9 5 5 -7 5 _______________________________________________ Trends in the labor force___________________________________________________________ A gin g of the labor force______________________________________________________ Changes in labor force participation of older p ersons-----------------------------Projections of th e labor force to 1 9 7 5 ______________________________________ T h e trend tow ard u rbanization______________________________________________ R egional variations in population grow th, 1 9 4 0 -5 0 ---------------------------------Interstate differences in population 65 years and o v e r---------------------------Changes in age distribution in selected m etropolitan areas, 1 9 4 0 -5 0 . _ Industrial and occupational tren ds__________________________________________ E m p lo y m e n t b y occupation, industry, and class of w orker_____________ D u ration o f em p lo y m e n t_____________________________________________________ E x te n t and duration o f u n em p loym en t of older w orkers-----------------------W o rk experience of m en and w om en in 1 9 5 5 ___________________________________ Older workers in th e experienced labor reserve___________________________ Life expectancy and the length o f w orking life_________________________________ T h e increase in life e xp ectan cy______________________________________________ T h e growing gap betw een to ta l life and working-life sp an ______________ In com e and sources of incom e_____________________________________________________ Incom e of fam ilies_____________________________________________________________ Incom e o f men and w o m e n __________________________________________________ Sources of incom e— June 1 9 5 6 _______________________________________________ R etirem en t and pension program s based on e m p lo y m e n t____________________ O ld-age, survivors and disability insurance program _____________________ R ailroad retirem ent and survivor benefit p ro gra m _______________________ Current benefit p a y m en ts____________________________________________________ Public retirem ent and pension sy ste m s__________________________________________ Federal civil service retirem ent s y s te m ____________________________________ State and local governm ent system s________________________________________ E xte n t to which workers eligible for pensions continue in e m p lo ym e n t____ O A S D I experience_____________________________________________________________ Experience under the R ailroad R etirem ent A c t ___________________________ 1 1 4 5 5 5 10 11 11 14 14 17 19 23 25 27 29 31 31 32 34 34 35 36 37 37 38 39 39 39 40 41 41 41 TABLES Number P o p u l a t io n T r e n d s 1. T o ta l population including A rm ed Forces overseas, b y age and sex, June 1900, and July 1 9 5 0 -7 5 ______________________________________________ 2. Percent distribution of th e total population including A rm ed Forces overseas b y age and sex, June 1900, and July 1 9 5 0 -7 5 ________________ 3. Population changes, b y age and sex, 1955 to projected 1960, 1965, and 1 9 7 5 ____________________________________________________________________________ T r e n d s in th e 3 4 L abo r F orce 4. A ge distribution o f the labor force b y sex, June 1900 and annual aver ages 1 9 5 0 -7 5 __________________________________________________________________ 5. Percent distribution of th e labor force, by age and sex, June 1900 and annual averages, 1 9 5 0 -7 5 _____________________________________________t_____ 6. Percent of p opulation 45 years and over in th e labor force, b y age and sex, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 5 0 _______________________________________________________________ 2 v 6 7 9 VI S T U D IE S OF THE AG ED AND A G IN G Number Page 7. L ab or force statu s of older age groups in the civilian noninstitutional population, A pril 1956 and April 1 9 4 5 ___________________________________ 8. L abor force changes, b y age and sex, annual averages, 1955 to projected 1960, 1965, and 1 9 7 5 ______________________________________________________ 9. U rban-rural distribution of the total population and of the p opulation 65 years and over, 1 9 0 0 -5 0 _________________________________________________ 10. Percent changes in population b y age group, for regions, 1 9 4 0 -5 0 _______ 11. P opulation 65 years and over, b y S tate, April 1950 and percent o f total population, 1940 and 1 9 5 0 _________________________________________________ 12. A ge distribution o f the population for selected standard m etropolitan areas, 1950, and percent change since 1 9 4 0 ________________________________ 13. Percent distribution of the labor force b y occupational group, 1 9 1 0 -5 0 14. N u m b er of em ployed persons by m ajor occupation group, age, and sex, April 1 9 5 6 _____________________________________________________________________ 15. Percent distribution o f em ployed persons b y m ajor occupation group, age, and sex, A pril 1 9 5 6 ____________________________________________________ 16. Percent distribution b y age of m ale workers in industries covered b y O A S I, 1 9 5 3 ___________________________________________________________________ 17. E m p lo y e d persons b y class of \yorker, age and sex, April 1 9 5 6 __________ 18. D u ration o f em p lo ym en t on current job s b y age and sex o f workers, January 1 9 5 1 _________________________________________________________________ 19. Percent of w age and salary workers in each age group seeking w ork, b y duration of u n em p loym en t, April 1 9 4 0 ___________________________________ 2 0 . U n em p loym en t rates for w age and salary workers b y age, first quarter, 1 9 5 3 -5 6 ________________________________________________________________________ 2 1 . E x te n t of u n em p loym en t in 1955 of m en w ho were u n em p loyed a t any tim e during the year, b y a g e _______________________________ 2 2. W o rk experience during 1955 of the civilian non institutional population, b y age and sex________________________________________________________________ 2 3. M a jo r occupational group of previous jo b for persons in the experienced labor reserve in M arch 1951, b y age and sex____________________________ 2 4 . Su m m ary of work experience of persons in the labor reserve in M arch 1951, b y age and se x ________________________________________________________ L if e 10 11 12 12 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 27 28 30 31 E x p e c t a n c y a n d t h e L e n g t h o f W o r k in g L if e 2 5 . A verage num ber of years of life remaining at selected ages, b y color and sex, 1900, 1940, 1950, and 1 9 5 4 ___________________________________________ 2 6. T o ta l life expectan cy and w ork-life expectancy, at selected ages by sex, 1900, 1940, 1950, and 1 9 5 5 ________________________________________ 32 34 I ncom e a n d Sources of I ncom e 2 7. Percent distribution of fam ilies b y to ta l m oney incom e and age of head, 1 9 5 5 ____________________________________________________________________ 2 8. D istribution of persons 14 years of age and over b y to ta l m oney incom e, age, and sex, 1 9 5 5 ___________________________________________________________ 29. E stim a ted num ber of persons aged 65 and over receiving incom e from specified source, June 1 9 5 6 _________________________________________________ 30. M en in current p ay m en t status (percent of those eligible for benefits at beginning of year), b y age__________________________________________________ 35 36 37 41 CHARTS 1. Percent of m en and w om en aged 45 years and over in the labor force, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 5 0 _____________________________________________________________________ 2. R egional variations in population grow th, 1 9 4 0 -5 0 _____________________ 3. O ccupational tren ds, 1 9 1 0 -5 0 _________________________________________________ 8 13 18 E M P L O Y M E N T A N D E C O N O M IC S T A T U S OF O LD E R M EN AND WOMEN P o p u l a t io n INC RE ASE S I N T rends N U M B E R A N D PR O PO R TIO N OF OLDER PERSONS P rofound changes in the age structure o f the population o f the U nited States have accom panied the grow th o f the total population, w hich alm ost doubled betw een 1900 and 1950. One o f the m ost sig nificant changes has been the increase in the num ber and proportion o f persons 45 years o f age and over. In 1900, about 3 m illion persons, or 1 in 25, were aged 65 and over. In 1950, those aged 65 and over totaled alm ost 12 y2m illion, or about 1 out o f 12. B y 1955 they num bered m ore than 14 m illion. In 1900, persons betw een 45 and 64 num bered nearly 10y2 m illion, or about 14 percent o f the total population. B y 1955, th is age group had increased to nearly 3 3 ^ m illion, about one-fifth o f the total population. B etw een 1900 and 1955, th e proportion o f persons in the total popu lation 45 years o f age and over had increased from 18 to 29 percent. In 1950, for the first tim e, there were m ore wom en than m en in the total population. B y 1955, the excess o f wom en over m en totaled 1.2 m illion. W om en 65 years and over, because o f their greater longevity, exceeded m en o f the sam e ages by a m illion. In 1955, there were 111 wom en aged 65 and over in the population for every 100 m en o f the same ages. In 1900 there were 98 wom en for every 100 m en in this age group. U nd erlyin g these changes in the age structure o f the population have been the long-term decline in the birth rate, the cessation of large-scale im m igration, and the increases in lon gevity resulting from im provem ent o f liv in g standards and advances in m edical science, particularly the effective control o f epidem ic infectious diseases. P opulation changes, by age group, from 1900 to 1950 and 1955, to gether w ith projections for 1960, 1965, and 1975, are presented in tables 1 through 3. 1 2 S T U D IE S T a b l e 1.— OF TH E AGED AND A G IN G T o ta l p o p u la tio n in c lu d in g A r m e d F o r c e s o v e r s e a s , b y a g e a n d s e x , J u n e 1900 a n d J u l y 1950 to 1975 [Millions] Acutal Age and sex 1900 Total, all ages_________________________ Under 14---------------- ----------------------14 and over------------------------------------14 to 19____ ______ _____ ________ 20 to 24__________ _____________ 25 to 44______________________ 45 and over____________________ 45 to 54____________________ 55 to 64____________________ 65 and over________________ Male, all ages_________________________ Under 14............. .......... .......................... 14 and over________________________ 14 to 19____ ___________________ 20 to 24________________________ 25 to 44____ ___________________ 45 and over____________________ 45 to 54____________________ 55 to 64___________ _________ 65 and over________________ Female, all ages............................ .................. Under 14____ _____________________ 14 and over_______ ________________ 14 to 19________________________ 20 to 24........................................... 25 to 44____________________ ___ 45 and over____________________ 45 to 54____________________ 55 to 64____________________ 65 and over...... .......................... 76.0 24.6 51.4 9.2 7.4 21.3 13.5 6.4 4.0 3.1 38.8 12.4 26.4 4.6 3.6 11.1 7.0 3.4 2.1 1.6 37.2 12.2 25.0 4.6 3.7 10.2 6.5 3.0 1.9 1.5 Projected 1 1950 1955 1960 1965 151.7 38.6 113.1 12.8 11.6 45.5 43.1 17.4 13.4 12.3 75.5 19.7 55.9 6.5 5.8 22.4 21.2 8.7 6.7 5.8 76.2 18.9 57.2 6.4 5.9 23.1 21.9 8.7 6.7 6.5 165.2 46.4 118.8 13.6 10.8 46.9 47.6t 18.9 14.5 14.1 82.0 23.7 58.3 6.9 5.4 23.1 23.0 9.3 7.1 6.6 83.2 22.7 60.5 6.7 5.4 23.9 24.6 9.6 7.4 7.6 177.8 51.5 126.3 16.1 11.3 46.6 52.3 20.9 15.6 15.8 88.0 26.3 61.7 8.2 5.7 23.0 24.8 10.2 7.5 7.1 89.9 25.2 64.7 7.9 5.6 23.7 27.5 10.7 8.1 8.7 190.3 53.1 137.2 20.9 13.5 46.4 56.5 22.1 17.0 17.4 93.9 27.1 66.8 10.6 6.8 23.0 26.4 10.7 8.1 7.6 96.4 26.0 70.4 10.2 6.7 23.4 30.1 11.4 9.0 9.7 1975 221.5 62.7 158.8 22.5 19.3 53.2 63.8 23.3 19.9 20.7 109.1 32.0 77.1 11.5 9.8 26.7 29.2 11.3 9.2 8.7 112.4 30.7 81.7 11.0 9.5 26.5 34.6 12.0 10.7 12.0 * Series A projections which assume a continuation of the 1950-53 level of birth rates. o t e .—Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, U. S. Census of Population: 1900 and Current Population Reports, series P-25, Nos. 121 and 123. N S T U D IE S T a b l e 2.— OF THE AGED AND 3 A G IN G P e r c e n t d is tr ib u tio n o f th e t o ta l p o p u la tio n in c lu d in g A r m e d F o r c e s o v e r se a s, b y a g e a n d se a , J u n e 1900, a n d J u l y 1950 to 1975 Actual Age and sex Projected 1900 Total, all ages______ ____________ ____ Under 14.................................................. 14 and over............................................... 14 to 19_________________ ____ 20 to 24_______________ ________ 25 to 44____________ ____ _____ 45 and over____________________ 45 to 54................................ . 55 to 64........ .............................. 65 and over________ ________ Male, all ages................................................ Under 14........................................ .......... H andover................................ ............. 14 to 19_______________ ______ 20 to 24................... ............................ 25 to 4 4 ............................................ 45 and over.......................... .............. 45 to 54____ ____________ _ 55 to 64....................................... 65 and over................................ Female, all ages___ __________ _________ Under 14................................................... 14 and over........................................... . 14 to 19.......................— ................... 20 to 24................................................ 25 to 4 4 .......................... ............. . 45 and over................................. ....... 45 to 54........................................ 55 to 64.................................... 65 and over................................. 1950 1955 1960 100.0 32.4 67.6 12.0 9.7 28.1 17.8 8.4 5.3 4.1 100.0 34.1 65.9 9.7 9.4 28.7 18.1 8.8 5.3 4.0 100.0 34.8 65.2 10.3 10.0 27.5 17.4 8.1 5.2 4.1 100.0 25.5 74.5 8.4 7.7 30.0 28.4 11.5 8.8. 8.1 100.0 26.0 74.0 8.6 7.6 29.7 28.1 11.5 8.9 7.7 100.0 24.9 75.1 8.3 7.7 30.3 28.8 11.5 8.8 8.5 100.0 28.1 71.9 8.2 6.5 28.4 28.8 11.4 8.8 8.6 100.0 28.9 71.1 8.4 6.6 28.1 28.0 11.4 8.6 8.0 100.0 27.3 72.7 8.0 6.5 28.7 29.5 11.5 8.9 9.1 100.0 29.0 71.0 9.1 6.3 26.2 29.4 11.7 8.8 8.9 100.0 29.9 70.1 9.3 6.5 26.1 28.2 11.6 8.5 8.1 100.0 28.0 72.0 8.8 6.3 26.3 30.6 11.9 9.0 9.7 1965 1975 100.0 27.9 72.1 11.0 7.1 24.4 29.6 11.5 9.0 9.1 100.0 28.9 71.1 11.3 7.2 24.5 28.1 11.4 8.6 8.1 100.0 27.0 73.0 10.6 6.9 24.3 31.2 11.8 9.3 10.1 N ote.—Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Percents based on unrounded figures. Source: Based on table 1. 423782 0 — 57-------2 100.0 28.3 71.7 10.2 8.7 24.0 28.8 10.5 9.0 9.3 100.0 29.4 70.6 10.5 9.0 24.4 26.7 10.3 8.4 8.0 100.0 27.3 72.7 9.8 8.5 23.6 30.8 10.7 9.5 10.6 4 S T U D IE S T a b l e 3.— OF TH E AGED AND A G IN G P o p u la tio n c h a n g e s , b y a g e a n d s e x , 1 9 5 5 to p r o je c te d 1 9 6 0 ,1 9 6 5 , a n d 1 975 Popula tion July 1955 (millions) Age and sex Total, all ages................. .............................. Under 14. ............................. .................. 14 and over________________ __ ____ 14 to 19......... .................................... 20 to 24............................................... 25 to 44.................. ............................. 45 and over______________ _____ 45 to 54_______ _____ _______ 55 to 64___ ________________ 65 and over________________ Male, all ages. _ ______________________ Under 14. _ _______________________ 14 and over______________ _________ 14 to 19________________ _______ 20 to 24 __________ _____ _____ 25 to 44_____________ ____ _____ 45 and over_____ ____ __________ 45 to 54____________________ 55 to 64______________ _____ 65 and over________________ Female, all ages_______________________ Under 14_________ ____ ___________ 14 and over_______________________ 14 to 19______ ______ __________ 20 to 24„._________ ___________ 25 to 44....... ................... ................. 45 and over___ _ ____________ 45 to 54___________________ 55 to 64____________________ 65 and over_________ _____ 165.2 46.4 118.8 13.6 10.8 46.9 47.6 18.9 14.5 14.1 82.0 23.7 58.3 6.9 5.4 23.1 23.0 9.3 7.1 6.6 83.2 22.7 60.5 6.7 5.4 23.9 24.6 9.6 7.4 7.6 Net change (millions) 1955 to— Percent change 1955 to— 1960 1965 1975 1960 1965 12.6 5.1 7.5 2.6 .5 —.3 4.7 2.0 1.1 1.7 6.0 2.6 3.3 1.3 .3 —.1 1.8 .8 .4 .6 6.6 2.5 4.2 1.3 .2 —.2 2.9 1.1 .7 1.1 25.0 6.7 18.3 7.3 2.7 —.6 8.9 3.2 2.5 3.2 11.9 3.5 8.4 3.7 1.4 —.1 3.4 1.3 1.0 1.1 13.2 3.2 9.9 3.5 1.3 —.5 5.5 1.8 1.5 2.2 56.3 16.3 40.0 9.0 8.5 6.3 16.3 4.4 5.3 6.5 27.1 8.4 18.8 4.6 4.4 3.6 6.2 1.9 2.1 2.1 29.1 7.9 21.2 4.4 4.1 2.7 10.1 2.5 3.2 4.4 8 11 6 19 5 —1 10 10 8 12 7 11 6 19 5 0) 8 9 6 9 8 11 7 19 4 —1 12 12 9 15 15 14 15 54 25 —1 19 17 17 23 15 15 14 54 26 0) 15 14 14 16 16 14 16 53 24 —2 23 19 21 29 1975 34 35 34 66 79 13 34 23 37 46 33 35 32 67 81 16 27 21 30 32 35 35 35 65 77 11 41 26 43 58 1 Less than 0.05 percent. N ote.—Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Changes from 1955 are based on unrounded data. Source: Based on table 1. POPULATION ESTIM ATES, 1 9 5 5 - 7 5 P opulation grow th during the next generation is expected to con tinue to be accom panied by substantial increases in the num ber o f older persons. (S ee table 3.) T he num ber o f persons 45 and over is expected to increase to about 64 m illion by 1975, w hen they m ay con stitute nearly h a lf o f all persons over 20 years o f age. Persons 65 and over m ay num ber about 21 m illion, an increase o f 46 percent over about 14 m illion in 1955. Because o f their increasing lon gevity, as com pared w ith men, wom en aged 65 and over m ay exceed m en o f the same ages by over 3 m illion, more than trip lin g the com parable ex cess o f 1 m illion in 1955. W om en 45 years and over m ay exceed men o f the sam e ages by alm ost 5 y2m illion. P opulation grow th am ong persons 14 and over w ill bring the sm all est relative increases in the group aged 25 to 44 years. I t is th is age group w hich has the highest rate o f participation in the productive work force. S T U D IE S T OF rends in TH E t h e AGED L AND abor F A G IN G 5 orce AGING OF TH E LABOR FORCE A ccom panying the agin g o f the population has been a sim ilar change in the age distribution o f the labor force, as show n in tables 4 and 5. In 1900, about one-fourth o f the w orking population was aged 45 and over. In 1955 this age group constituted m ore than a third o f the labor force. T he num ber w ill increase in future years but the pro portion is not lik ely to increase because o f the expected grow th in the num ber o f workers under 25 years o f age. Since 1900, the m ost significant changes in the age com position of the labor force are found in the decline from 31 percent to less than 19 percent o f the proportion o f persons 14 to 24 years o f age, and the increase from 20 percent to over 31 percent o f the proportion o f those aged 45 to 64. T he latter age group has registered especially large gains in the fem ale labor force, m uch o f the change occurring since 1948. There has been little significant change in the extent to w hich per sons 65 and over are represented in the labor force, although the pro portion o f this age group in the population doubled between 1900 and 1950 (table 2 ). CHANGES IN LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION OF OLDER PERSONS Long- , trends term T he rise in the proportion o f the labor force m ade up o f persons 45 years o f age and over has been som ew hat slow er, how ever, than in population as a whole. T his has resulted from the declining trend in labor force participation am ong older m en, 55 years and over, and particularly am ong m en past 65. A m ong wom en over 45, the trend has been in the opposite direction; since 1890 the percentage o f all wom en o f these ages who are in the labor force has doubled from 11 to 22. Table 6 and chart 1 present the changes from 1890 to 1950. Men.— In 1890 about tw o-thirds o f all men aged 65 and over were in the labor force. B y 1940 this rate had dropped to slig h tly over tw ofifths. A num ber o f industrial and occupational trends (discussed below ) contributed to the long-term decline in em ploym ent oppor tu nities for older men. Superim posed upon these trends were the effects o f the depression o f the 1930’s w hich largely accounted for the particularly sharp drop in labor force participation am ong m en 65 years o f age and over between 1930 and 1940. W en.— A m ong wom en aged 45 to 64, the trend in w ork activity om has been upward. B etw een 1890 and 1950, the participation o f these older wom en in the labor force increased sharply. T he m ost sign ifi cant increase is found am ong wom en aged 45 to 54, o f whom 33 percent were in the labor force in 1950. These trends reflect the social and econom ic forces w hich have led to increased em ploym ent o f wom en outside the home. H ow ever, the participation o f wom en 65 years and over in the labor force rem ains quite lo w ; few er than 10 percent o f the wom en in this age group were w orking or seeking w ork in A p ril 1950. STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 6 T able 4.—Age distribution of the labor force by sex, June 1900, and annual averages, 1950-15 [Millions] Actual Age and sex 10 90 Total, 1 and over__________ _______ 4 1 to 1 ________ _____ ________ 4 9 2 to 2 ___________ ____ ______ 0 4 2 to 3 ..... ..... ............. .......... 5 4 3 to 4 _________________ ___ _ 5 4 4 and over____________________ 5 4 to 5 ____________________ 5 4 5 to 6 ____________________ 5 4 6 and over_____________ ___ 5 27.6 4.1 4.5 7.1 5.3 6.7 3.6 Male, 1 and over........ ................... 4 1 to 1 _____________________ 4 9 2 to 2 _______________ ______ _ 0 4 2 to 3 ________ ______________ 5 4 3 to 4 _______________________ 5 4 4 and over____ _______________ 5 4 to 5 ______________ ____ _ 5 4 5 to 6 _______________ ___ _ 5 4 6 and over_________________ 5 Fem 1 and over_______ ____ ____ ale, 4 1 to 1 _______________________ 4 9 2 to 24.______________________ 0 2 to 3 ______________ _____ _ 5 4 3 to 4 .......................... ......... 5 4 4 and over............ .......... ........ 5 4 to 5 _______ ____ ________ 5 4 5 to 6 ..... ............ ............ 5 4 6 and over___________ _____ 5 22.6 2.0 1.1 2.8 3.3 5.9 4.6 5.9 3.2 1.8 1.0 5.0 1.2 1.2 1.1 .7 .8 .4 .2 .1 15 90 6 .6 4 5.4 7.9 1 .1 5 1 .1 4 22.1 1 .5 1 7.6 3.0 45.9 3.4 5.2 11.0 9.9 1 .4 6 Projected 1 15 95 5.8 2.5 1 .7 8 6 .9 8 5.4 7.3 1 .7 5 1 .6 5 2 .9 4 1 .0 3 8.5 3.3 48.0 3.4 4.8 1 .5 1 10.8 1 .5 7 8.9 6.1 2.5 2 .9 0 2.0 2.0 8.1 2.7 4.1 4.2 5.8 3.3 1.8 .6 2.5 4.3 4.8 7.3 4.2 2.4 .8 16 90 72 .8 6.1 7.6 1 .9 4 1 .8 6 27 .4 1 .6 4 9.3 3.5 49.8 3.8 5.0 1 .9 0 1 .4 1 1 .8 8 9.7 6.5 2.6 23.0 2.3 2.6 4.1 5.4 8.6 4.9 2.8 .9 16 95 78.3 7.5 9.0 1 .9 4 1 .2 7 2 9.7 1 .7 5 10.2 3.7 52.6 4.7 5.9 10.8 1 .5 1 1 .8 9 10.2 7.0 2.6 25.8 2.9 3.1 4.1 5.8 9.9 5.6 3.3 1.1 17 95 9 .4 1 7.6 1 .7 2 1 .5 6 3 3.5 1 .2 7 1 .3 2 4.1 21.1 6 .1 0 4.6 8.3 1 .1 5 1 .7 0 2 .4 1 10.8 7.9 2.7 3 .3 1 3.0 4.4 6.0 5.8 12.1 6.4 4.3 1.4 1Projection III. For m ales 1 to 2 years and fem 1 to 3 years of age, projection of average annual 4 4 ales 4 4 rates of change in labor force participation rates from 1 5 to 1 5 . For other age groups, projection of rates 90 95 of change in labor force participation rates from1 2 to the average of April 1 5 ,1 5 , and 1 5 . 90 94 95 96 Note—Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: 1 0 : John D. Durand; The Labor Force in the United States, 1 9 -1 6 . 1 5 -7 : U. S. Depart 90 80 90 90 5 m of Com erce, Bureauof the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-50, Nos. 3 and 6 . ent m 1 9 7 STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING T able 5.—Percent distribution of the labor force, by age and sex, June 1900 and annual averages, 1950-75 Actual Age and sex 10 90 15 90 Projected 15 95 16 90 16 95 17 95 Total, 1 and over........................... 4 1 to 19......... .........-............... 4 2 to 24__..... .................. -........ 0 2 to 34___________________ ___ 5 3 to 4 5 4.... ............ .................. 4 and over..........-.................... 5 4 to 5 ..... .................. ....... 5 4 5 to 64....... .........----- ----5 6 and over...... ............ ....... 5 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1 .7 4 1 .2 6 2 .6 5 1 .1 9 2 4.4 1 .0 3 7.3 4.0 8.4 12.2 23.4 21.8 34.3 1 .8 7 7.8 9.6 1 .5 1 1 .0 9 4.7 2 2.7 3 .1 6 1 .9 8 1 .4 2 4.8 8.3 1 .5 0 20.5 23 .0 37.6 8.3 1 .9 3 2 .1 3 1 .0 8 36.7 1 .8 8 1 .4 3 4.4 Male, 1 and over............................ 4 1 to 1 ___ ___________ _____ 4 9 2 to 2 ................. ............ ..... 0 4 2 to 34.............................. — 5 3 to 44-............. ........... ......... 5 4 and over............. ................. 5 4 to 5 _ ________ ________ 5 4_ 5 to 6 ____________________ 5 4 6 and over-------------------- 5 Fem 1 and over..... .................. ale, 4 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1 .5 2 1 .6 4 26.2 2 0.4 2 .3 6 1 .0 4 7.9 4.4 7.5 1 .3 1 2 4.0 7.0 7.6 100.0 1 to 1 ________ _________ ____ 4 9 2 to 24...... — ________________ 0 2 to 34_______________________ 5 3 to 44________________ ____ _ 5 4 and over___ __________ ___ — 5 4 to 5 ........... ............ ....... 5 4 5 to 64_________ __________ 5 6 and over___ _____________ 5 2 .6 4 2 3.6 22.8 1 .0 3 1 .0 6 8.5 4.9 2.5 11.8 10.6 22.8 20.1 1 .7 2 4.8 22.0 37.9 20.1 1 .1 3 4.7 IO .9 O 100.0 3 7.7 1 .5 9 1 .0 3 5.2 21.8 5.3 23 .9 22.6 36.5 1 .5 8 12.8 5.2 37.6 1 .4 9 1 .2 3 5.0 7.7 1 .7 3 2 .1 5 1 .9 7 35.6 1 .9 7 13 .2 4.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 10.6 9.5 11.8 2 0.5 2 .1 3 35.2 1 .9 9 1 .5 1 3.7 9.9 1 .3 1 1 .8 7 23.5 37.5 2 .4 1 12.2 4.0 11.2 12.1 9.6 1 .1 4 1 .2 9 1 .4 8 38.7 2 .5 0 1 .9 3 4.4 21.6 3 5.7 1 .7 7 12.6 1 .4 4 22.0 2 .3 2 30.8 1 .8 7 9.8 3.1 10.1 10.1 21.8 22.8 8.8 11.2 2 0.5 1 .9 5 2 .3 2 38.4 21.6 1 .7 2 4.1 Note—Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Percents based on unrounded figures. Source: Based on table 4 . STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 8 Chart 1 PERCENT OF MEN AND WOMEN AGED 45 YEARS AND OVER IN THE LABOR FORCE, 1890-1950 45-54 55-64 65 Year* and Ovar pr e t #cn SOURCE: US BUREAU OF THE CENSUS UNITEO STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS *1910 DATA NOT COMPARABLE TO OTHER YEARS STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 9 T able 6.—Percent of population 45 pears and over in the labor force, by age and sex, 1890 to 1950 Age and sex MN E 45andover__ ____ _____________ .. 4 to 5 _______________________ 5 4 5 to 6 _______________________ 5 4 6 and over____________________ 5 WMN OE 4 and over_______________________ 5 4 to 5 _______________________ 5 4 5 to 6 _______________________ 5 4 6 and over________________ ___ 5 19 80 8 .7 6 93.9 89.0 10 90 8 .3 4 92.8 86.1 68.2 63.2 11.1 1 .3 2 1 .2 4 1 .5 2 11 .5 7.6 12.6 8.3 12 90 13 90 14 90 15 90 83.2 93.5 8 6.3 55 .6 82.5 93.8 86.5 54.0 7 .7 7 92.7 8 .6 4 42 .2 7 .3 5 92.0 83.4 4 .5 1 1 .3 4 1 .9 7 1 .3 4 7.3 1 .4 5 1 .7 9 1 .3 5 7.3 1 .3 6 2 .4 2 1 .6 6 22.5 32 .9 2 .4 3 7.8 6.0 Note.—Figures for periods prior to 1 4 adjusted to include persons of unknown age. Data refer to 90 April, except 1 9 to 1 0 (June) and 1 2 (January). 80 90 90 Source: 1 9 to 1 4 : John D. Durand, The Labor Force in the United States, 1 9 to 1 6 ; New York, 80 90 80 90 Social Science Research Council, 1 4 . 98 1 5 : U. S. Bureau of the C 90 ensus, 1 5 Census of Population. Data adjusted to include Armed Forces 90 overseas. Recent trends T h e expansion in em ploym en t opportu n ities d u rin g W o r ld W a r I I brou gh t a sign ifican t increase in labor fo rce a c tiv ity am ong persons o ver 45, as w e ll as fo r oth er popu lation groups. I n A p r i l 1945, there w ere about 2 y2 m illio n ex tra w orkers in the la b o r fo rce, 45 years and over, above the num ber th a t w ou ld h ave been expected had p rew a r trends continued. A b o u t 1y2 m illio n o f these extra o ld er w orkers w ere w om en and about 1 m illio n w ere men. H o w e v e r, even under the pressure o f a w a rtim e la b o r m arket, there was evidence o f reluctance b y em ployers to h ire o ld er w orkers u n til supplies o f yo u n ger men w ere exhausted. M o reo ver, in the first 2 years o f the w ar, em ploym en t discrim in ation again st o ld er w om en was esp ecially persistent. T a b le 7 shows the la b o r fo rce status o f o ld er men and w om en in the c iv ilia n n on institu tion al p op u la tion in A p r i l 1956, w ith the com para tiv e rates at the peak o f W o r ld W a r I I em ploym en t in A p r i l 1945. T h e rates o f labor fo rc e p a rticip a tio n am ong men 55 years o f age and o v e r in A p r i l 1956 w ere w e ll below w a rtim e levels. T h e decline in the rate f o r men 65 years o f age and over, w ith o n ly 41 percent o f men o f these ages in the labor fo rce as com pared w ith 51 percent in A p r i l 1945, has been p a rtic u la rly sharp. T h e cu rrent data re flected the continu ation o f a lo n g tim e tren d th a t was te m p o ra rily reversed d u rin g the extrem e m an pow er shortages o f W o r ld W a r I I . B y A p r i l 1950 wom en betw een the ages o f 45 and 64 had again a t tain ed th e ir h ig h w a rtim e rate o f la b or fo rce p a rticip a tio n w h ich had declined a fte r 1945. I n A p r i l 1956 alm ost 45 percent o f wom en aged 45 to 54, and about 37 percent o f wom en aged 55 to 64, w ere in the la b o r force. T h e ir increased p a rticip a tio n continues a lo n g-term tren d w hich was accelerated b y m an pow er dem ands o f W o r ld W a r I I . A m o n g w om en past 65 years o f age the p ro p o rtio n in the labor fo rce throu ghou t the p o s t-W o rld W a r I I p eriod has been about 10 percent but it appears to be in creasin g somewhat. STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 10 T able 7.—Labor force status of older age groups in the civilian noninstitutional population, April 1956 and April 1945 Age and sex Civilian noninstitutional population, Percent of population April 1 5 (in thousands) 96 in labor force 1 Total Total 4 and over_________ ______ ___ 5 Men 4 and over___________________ 5 4 to 5 ___ ___ ___ ____________ 5 4 5 to 6 __________ ______ — ___ 5 4 6 and over____________________ 5 Women 45and over........ _.......... ..... 4 to 5 4 ..___ ___________ ______ 5 5 to 64--...... .......... ................ 5 6 and over.______ _____________ 5 4 ,4 2 7 0 2 ,7 2 2 8 9 8 ,2 2 7 0 ,0 4 6 9 ,4 6 2 ,6 2 4 2 9 3 ,6 9 7 4 ,4 4 7 3 ,5 9 In labor Not inlabor force force 2 ,6 1 58 1 ,8 4 72 88 ,9 1 6 7 ,1 7 2,666 75 ,8 7 4 0 ,3 1 22 ,7 1 85 3 2 ,7 1 12 4 5 ,9 8 31 0 87 2 3 3 ,8 0 1 ,7 4 66 53 ,3 7 4 2 ,7 4 6 0 ,7 3 April 15 96 April 1 4 95 (wartime) 5 4.2 7 8.2 96 .8 88.2 41.0 31.9 44.6 36.6 11.1 5 .1 5 84.0 9 7.3 92.0 5 1.2 26.6 37.0 27.4 9.6 1 Not comparable with dates in table which are based on total population and total labor force. Source: U. S Department of Com erce, Bureau of the C . m ensus. PROJECTIONS OF THE LABOR FORCE TO 19 75 P ro jec tio n s o f the la b or fo rc e fo r the n ext tw o decades in dicate about a 10-m illion rise betw een 1955 and 1965 and perhaps another 12 o r 13 m illio n in the fo llo w in g decade (ta b le 4 ). A b o u t h a lf the increase b y 1965 w ill be p ro vid ed b y persons 45 years and over. T h is w ill result fr o m increases in p op u la tion in these ages and also fr o m the expected continuation o f in creasin g labor fo rc e p a r ticip a tion o f adu lt wom en. T h e num ber o f w orkers in ages 25 to 44, on the oth er hand, w ill increase v e r y lit t le since the p op u la tion in these ages w ill a ctu ally decline. T h e m odest increm ent w ill result fr o m the continued increase in la b o r fo rc e p a rticip a tio n rates o f w om en 25 to 44 years. I n the n ext decade, the grou p aged 20 to 34 w ill m ake the m a jo r con trib u tion to la b o r fo rc e g ro w th — about 10 m illio n o f the expected in crease o f 13 m illio n . A lm o s t a ll o f the 10 m illio n w ill result fr o m popu lation g ro w th alone. T h e expected continued rise in la b or fo rce p a rticip a tio n rates o f o ld er wom en, togeth er w ith p op u la tion gro w th , w ill b rin g an a d d itio n o f about 4 m illio n w orkers m ages 45 and o ver (ta b le 8 ). I f these d ifferen tia l contributions to la b or fo rc e g ro w th on the p a rt o f the variou s age grou ps o f men and w om en occur as expected, the age structure o f the la b or fo rc e in 1975 w ill be qu ite changed. T h e grou p between ages 20 and 34, w hich has been a d eclin in g p o rtio n o f the la b or force, w ill increase fr o m 33 percent in 1955 to 37 percent o f the la b or fo rce in 1975. T h e p ro p o rtio n aged 35 to 44 w ill decline to 18 percent fr o m about 23 percent, w h ile teenagers and those 45 and o v e r w ill rem ain about the same p ro p o rtio n o f the to ta l labor fo rc e (ta b le 5 ). STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 11 T able 8.—Labor force changes, by age and sex, annual averages, 1955 to projected 1960, 1965, and Total labor force, 15 95 (millions) Age and sex Total, 1 and over_________ 4 1 to 1 _________ ___ 4 9 2 to 2 0 4_______________ 2 to 3 5 4______ ________ 3 to 4 _______________ 5 4 4 and over____________ 5 4 to 5 ____________ 5 4 5 to 6 ____________ 5 4 6 and over_________ 5 Male, 1 and over__________ 4 1 to 1 _______________ 4 9 2 to 2 _______________ 0 4 2 to 3 5 4_____ ___ ______ 3 to 4 _______________ 5 4 4 and over____________ 5 4 to 5 ____________ 5 4 5 to 6 ____________ 5 4 6 and over_________ 5 Fem 1 and over............. ale, 4 1 to 1 _______________ 4 9 2 to 2 _______________ 0 4 2 to 3 _______________ 5 4 3 to 4 5 4_______________ 4 and over____________ 5 4 to 5 ____________ 5 4 5 to 6 5 4____________ 6 and over_________ 5 Net change (m illions) 1 5 to— 95 16 90 16 95 Percent change 1 5 to— 95 17 95 16 90 16 95 68 .9 3.9 9.4 22.5 6 1 4 5.4 7.3 1 .7 5 1 .6 5 2 4.9 13 .0 8.5 3.3 4 8.0 3.4 4.8 1 .5 1 10.8 1 .5 7 8.9 .7 .3 2.2 2.3 5.4 5 .4 1 3 4 -5 7 17 95 4 0 2 4 6.1 -.8 1.1 2.5 1.6 .7 .2 1.7 .4 .2 -.6 .5 1.2 .8 .3 2.5 20.9 2.2 2.0 .3 2.5 4.3 4.8 7.3 4.2 2.4 .8 .1 1 .7 -.9 1.6 .8 8.6 4.8 2.7 1.7 .4 4.5 12.0 1.3 1.1 -.7 .6 2.3 1 .3 1.3 3.4 3.6 -.1 3.9 1 .9 .8 .1 4.1 3.7 .8 1.8 .2 1 0 1 2 9 7 4 1 2 4 -5 5 7 9 6 3 1 .4 0 1 0 .1 -.2 .6 4.9 .9 .7 -.2 .9 1.0 2.0 1.8 1 5 .1 1.4 .9 .3 2.2 2.0 .6 1.3 .8 .4 2.6 .9 4.8 6 -4 1 2 1 8 1 8 1 7 1 8 -6 1 0 1 9 2 1 2 0 1 2 9 3 8 2 2 -6 6 1 3 1 5 1 4 4 2 3 4 5 2 7 -4 20 3 5 3 3 3 7 3 6 3 3 4 2 7 4 3 4 5 3 5 3 2 4 4 2 3 2 5 3 7 7 1 3 2 -1 22 2 1 2 9 7 5 0 5 1 8 0 4 1 2 0 6 5 5 4 8 2 7 5 Note.—Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Percents based on unrounded figures. Source: Based on table 4 . THE TREND TOWARD URBANIZATION In crea sin g urban ization o f the p opu lation has accom panied its grow th . I n 1900, the people o f the U n ite d States w ere p red o m in an tly ru ral. B y 1920, about h a lf the p opu lation was l iv in g in urban centers. B y 1940, the urban p op u la tion had reached alm ost 60 percen t o f the total, com pared w ith 40 percent in 1900. I n 1950, w ith a changed urban-rural definition, alm ost tw o-th ird s o f the tota l p opu lation liv e d in urban areas. T h e p ro p o rtio n o f the popu lation 65 years and o ver w ho liv e in urban areas has fo llo w e d the gen era l p opu lation trend. Since 1930, the num ber o f persons 65 years and o ver w ho liv e in urban centers has exceeded those o f ru ra l areas. I n June 1950, about 65 percent o f a ll persons 65 and o ver w ere liv in g in urban areas. T a b le 9 presents the data on the u rban-rural distribu tion o f the popu lation and explain s the changed definition o f “ urban” classifica tion used in the 1950 census. REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN POPULATION GROWTH, 194 0-50 T a b le 10 and ch art 2 show the significan t variations, am ong ge o g ra p h ic regions, in the re la tive g ro w th o f d ifferen t age grou ps w hich has accom panied the general increase o f the popu lation between 1940 423872 0 — 57--------3 STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 12 and 1950. Th ese va ria tio n s result fr o m past trends in interstate m ig ra tio n and in b irth and m o rta lity rates. W h ile the p op u la tion o f the U n ite d States increased about 15 percent in the decade 1940-50, the popu lation 65 years and o ver increased 36 percent. T h e la rgest re la tiv e increases in the oldest g rou p occurred m the Sou th A tla n tic , W e s t South C en tral, the M ou ntain, and P a c ific States. T h e P a c ific States, w ith the la rgest increase in tota l popu lation , also had the la rg est increase in the p opu lation aged 65 and over. I n this re g io n the to ta l popu lation increased about 50 percent, w h ile the p op u la tion aged 65 and o ver increased 56 percent. T h e c o m p a ra tive ly la rg e r increases, in some regions, o f the de pendent p opu lation under 15 years o f age, togeth er w ith the p o te n tia lly dependent p opu lation aged 65 and over, have had sign ifican t social and econom ic im plication s. T able 9.— Urban-rural distribution of the total population and of the population 65 years and over, 1900-1950 Urban Year and age Total All ages: 1 0 __________________ 90 1 1 __________________ 90 1 2 _ ___ ____________ 90 _ 1 3 __________________ 90 1 4 __________________ 90 1 5 i_________________ 90 6 and over: 5 1 0 __________________ 90 1 1 __________________ 90 1 2 __________________ 90 1 3 __________________ 90 1 4 __________________ 90 1 5 i___________ ____ 90 Tos ns h ua d 7 ,9 5 59 9 ,9 2 17 15 1 0 ,7 1 12 7 2 ,7 5 11 6 9 3, 6 10 67 5, 9 3 8 ,0 0 3 5 ,9 0 4 3 ,9 3 6 3 ,6 4 9 1 ,0 9 1,2 0 2 7 Number Rural Percent of total Tos ns hua d 3 9.7 45 .7 5 .2 1 5 .2 6 5 .5 6 64 .0 3 ,1 0 0 6 4 ,9 9 1 9 5 ,1 8 45 68,9 5 5 7 ,4 4 42 9 ,4 8 6 6 0) 19 ,6 3 2 3 ,3 9 3 2 ,5 4 57 ,0 3 7 2 ,8 6 (2 ) 4 2.9 47.4 5 .1 3 5 .2 6 6 3.8 Number Percent of total Tos ns h ua d 4 ,8 5 5 3 4 ,9 3 9 7 5, 53 1 5 5 ,8 0 32 5,2 6 7 4 5, 2 0 4 3 (2 ) 2 5 ,2 7 2 9 ,5 4 3 1 ,1 0 3 4 ,9 6 4 4 ,4 3 60 .3 5 .3 4 48.8 43.8 43.5 36.0 (2 ) 5 .1 7 52 .6 46 .9 43.8 36.2 1The urban and rural population data for 1 5 are not com 90 parable with data for earlier periods because of changes in the definition of urban residence which added densely settled urban fringe areas and unincor porated places of 2 0 inhabitants or m ,5 0 ore. As a result of the changed definition, the figure for the total urban population in 1 5 is about 8m 90 illion larger than it would have been under the 1 4 definition. 90 2Not available. Source: U. S Department of Com erce, Bureau of the Census: 1 0 -1 4 , all ages, Historical Statistics . m 90 90 of the United States, 1 8 -1 4 ; 6 years and over, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1 4 Population, 79 95 5 90 vol. II, Characteristics of the Population. 1 5 , 1 5 Census of Population, vol. II, pt. 1 United States 90 90 , Sum ary, table 3 . m 8 T able 10.—Percent changes in population by age group, for regions, 1940-50 Region United States___ __________ New England__________ ___ Middle Atlantic--------------East North Central_____ ____ West North Central_________ South Atlantic_____________ East South Central.............. West South Central_________ Mountain________________ Pacific___________________ All ages 1 .5 4 1 .4 0 9.5 1 .2 4 4.0 1 .8 8 6.5 1 .3 1 2 2.3 4 8.8 Under 1 5 years 22.8 1 .9 9 1 .4 7 26 .8 12.2 21.6 8.6 1 .7 4 31.5 84.7 1 to 4 5 4 years 5.8 2.7 -.1 5 .1 -4.9 12.0 -.9 2.1 1 .6 5 38.9 4 to 6 5 4 years 1 .5 7 1 .9 0 1 5.6 1 .6 4 6.3 26.2 1 .3 4 21.6 1 .6 8 35.7 6 years 5 and over 36.0 26.9 35 .1 31.8 23.8 44.2 3 .1 4 43.7 4 3.0 56 .4 Source: U. S Department of Com erce, Bureau of the C . m ensus, United States C ensus of Population: 1 4 and 1 5 . 90 90 REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN POPULATION GROWTH, 1940-50 A ll A g e s and 65 and O ver STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING Chart 2 S rce: U . BUREAU O THE CENSUS ou .S F 00 14 STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING INTERSTATE DIFFERENCES IN POPULATION 6 5 YEARS AND OVER In April 1950,8.1 percent of the total population was 65 years of age and over, as compared with 6.8 percent in 1940. In 7 States, about 10 percent of the total population was aged 65 and over. In general, as table 11 indicates, the highest proportion of persons aged 65 and over are found in N e w England, the Great Plains States, and the west coast. In the Southern States, the proportion of persons 65 and over tends to be relatively low. These differences result from geographic variations in birthrates and in mortality conditions, as well as from the effects of interstate migra tion. CHANGES IN AGE DISTRIBUTION IN SELECTED METROPOLITAN AREAS, 1940-50 Since 1940, the growth of certain metropolitan areas has been ac companied by more extreme changes in age distribution than has been true of the country as a whole. Table 12 shows the wide variation among selected metropolitan areas in the degree to which the age structure of the population has changed in the last decade. Although the total population aged 65 and over has increased 36 per cent since 1940, this older age group increased 50 percent or more in 24 out of 57 metropolitan areas. In 15 areas, the increase was 60 per cent or more. 15 STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING T a b l e 11.— Population 65 years and over, by State, April 1950 and percent of total population, 1940 and 1950 G g p division a State eo ra hic nd Continental United States.................. New England: Maine______ ____-....... ............ ...... New Hampshire_______ _ ___ ____ _ Vermont.............. ......................... . Massachusetts------ ----------- -----. Rhode Island............ ......................... Connecticut.................................. ... Middle Atlantic: New York.............. .......................... New Jersey................. ............ .......... Pennsylvania................ ..................... East North Central: Ohio----- -------------------------Indiana......... ................................... Illinois_______________ _________ Michigan......................... ................ Wisconsin— .................. ........ ............ West North Central: Minnesota..... ...................... ........ . Iowa................................. ............... Missouri.......................................... North Dakota.................................... South Dakota............... ........ ............ Nebraska.......................................... Kansas..................... ....................... South Atlantic: Delaware.---------- ----- ----------Maryland______ ________________ District of Colum bia.... ...................... . Virginia..---------------------------West Virginia................................... . North Carolina_______________ ____ South Carolina______ ___ _________ G eorgia----- -----------------------Florida_____________________ ___ East South Central: Kentucky_______ ____ ___ _______ Tennessee..... ........ ........................... A labam a------- -------------------Mississippi---- ------- -------------West South Central: Arkansas________________________ Louisiana----- ---------------------O klahom a_______________________ Texas_______ ___ ______________ Mountain: Montana.---- ----------------------Idaho__________________________ Wyoming..______________________ C olorado________________________ New M exico________________ _____ Arizona_____________ ___ _______ Utah_____ ____ _______________ _ Nevada.... ....................................... Pacific: Washington______________________ O on_____ ___ ________________ reg California---------------------------- Population 6 years and over 5 Total popu lation (in Percent of total population thousands) Number (in thousands) 15 90 14 90 150,697 12,270 8.1 6.8 94 1 53 3 38 7 4,691 72 9 2,007 14.830 4,835 10,498 7,947 3,934 8,712 6,372 3,435 2,982 2,621 3,955 60 2 63 5 1,326 1,905 38 1 2,343 8 02 3,319 2,006 4,062 2,117 3,445 2,771 2,945 3, 2 2 9 3,062 2,179 1,910 2,684 2,233 7 71 , 1 51 9 59 8 21 9 1,325 61 8 70 5 69 8 10 6 2,379 1,521 10,586 9 4 5 8 4 0 48 6 7 0 17 7 1,258 34 9 87 8 79 0 31 6 74 5 42 6 30 1 29 6 23 7 47 0 4 8 5 5 10 3 14 9 2 6 14 6 5 7 25 1 19 3 25 2 15 1 20 2 27 3 25 3 25 3 19 9 13 5 19 4 17 7 14 9 53 1 5 1 4 4 1 8 16 1 3 3 4 4 4 2 1 1 21 1 13 3 85 9 10.2 10.8 10.5 10.0 8.9 8.8 8.5 8.1 8.4 8.9 9.2 8.7 7.2 9.0 9.0 10.4 10.3 7.8 8.5 9.8 10.2 8.3 7.0 7.1 6.5 6.9 5.5 5.4 6.4 8.6 8.0 7.1 6.5 7.0 7.8 6.6 8.7 6.7 8.6 7.4 6.3 8.7 4.9 5.9 6.2 6.9 8.9 8.7 ,5 9.5 9.9 9.6 8.5 7.6 7.5 6.8 6.7 6.8 7.8 8.4 7.2 6.3 7.7 7.6 9.0 8.6 6.1 6.9 8.0 8.7 7.7 6.8 6.2 5.8 5.3 4.4 4.3 5.1 6.9 6.7 5.9 4.8 5.3 5.5 5.0 6.2 5.4 6.5 6.0 5.0 7.7 4.4 4.8 5.5 6.2 8.3 8.5 8.0 Source: U. S. Departm of C m e e Bureau of the Census, 1 5 C ent o m rc , 9 0 ensus of Population, vol. II, pt. 1 , United States Summary, table 6 3. 16 T able S TU D IE S OF T H E AGED AND AGING 12.— Age distribution of the population for selected standard metropolitan areas, 1950, and percent change since 19401 Percent distribution by a e g Standardm etropolitana a re United States, total... Akron, O ......... ........ hio Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N. Y ___ ___________ Allentown-BethlehemEaston, Pa................ Atlanta, G a.................... Baltimore, Md_ ______ _ Birmingham, Ala............. Boston, Mass.................. Buffalo, N. Y................. Charleston, W. Va______ C a o 11 hic g , 1.................... Cincinnati, Ohio.............. C leveland, Ohio............... Colum bus, Ohio.............. Dallas, Tex..................... Dayton, Ohio................. Denver, Colo.................. Detroit, Mich_________ Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis.......................... Harrisburg, Pa................ Hartford, Conn............... Houston, Tex.................. Indianapolis, Ind............. Johnstown, Pa................ Kansas City, Mo............. Los A ngeles, Calif............ Louisville, Ky_................ Memphis, Tenn............... Miami, Fla................. . Milwaukee, Wis..... ........ Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. Nashville, Tenn________ Now O rleans, La_______ New York-northeastern New Jersey............. ..... New York portion___ New Jersey portion___ Norfolk-Portsmouth, Va__ O a , Nebr.................. m ha Philadelphia, Pa.............. Pittsburgh, Pa............... . Portland, O ................ reg Providence, R. I ________ Richmond, Va...... .......... Rochester, N. Y___ ____ St. Louis, Mo..________ San Antonio, Tex..... ....... San Diego, Calif_______ San Francisco-Oakland, Calif___ ____ ______ Scranton, Pa................... Seattle, Wash----------Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.. Syracuse, N. Y _________ Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. Toledo, Ohio.................. Utica-Rome, N .Y............ Washington, D. C______ Wheeling, W. Va.-Steubenville, Ohio_____ ____ Wilkes-Barre-Hazelton, Pa. W orcester, Mass.............. Youngstown, Ohio—........ All ae gs 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 Percent c a g , 1940-50 hne Under 6 5 Under 6 5 0 4 5 4 0 4 5 4 1 0 1 to 2 2 to 6 years 1 0 1 to2 2 to 6 years years years years a nd years years years a nd over over 2 0 2 0 1 8 1 7 2 0 1 8 2 0 1 7 1 8 2 3 1 7 1 7 1 8 1 8 1 8 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 9 1 9 1 7 2 1 1 8 2 0 1 7 1 8 2 1 2 0 1 5 1 7 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 6 1 6 1 7 1 9 1 9 1 7 1 7 1 9 1 7 1 8 1 7 1 6 2 3 2 1 1 9 1 7 1 9 1 6 1 7 1 5 1 8 1 8 1 9 1 8 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 2 2 1 2 0 2 0 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 0 2 1 2 4 2 0 2 0 1 8 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 9 2 2 1 8 2 2 2 0 2 4 1 9 1 7 2 1 2 2 1 7 2 0 2 0 2 3 2 2 2 0 2 0 1 9 2 5 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 8 2 1 2 0 1 8 2 0 2 4 2 0 1 6 2 2 1 7 1 9 2 2 1 8 2 1 1 9 2 0 2 2 2 3 1 9 2 1 5 0 5 3 5 4 5 4 5 1 5 3 5 0 5 2 5 4 4 7 5 7 5 3 5 7 5 2 5 3 5 1 5 2 5 3 5 1 5 1 56 5 3 5 3 4 7 5 5 5 5 5 0 5 1 5 9 56 5 3 5 2 5 3 5 6 5 6 5 7 5 0 5 1 5 5 5 4 5 4 5 2 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 7 5 1 5 8 5 3 5 4 5 5 5 2 5 2 5 3 5 2 5 5 5 0 5 3 5 2 5 3 8 7 9 9 6 7 6 1 0 8 5 8 9 8 9 6 7 8 6 1 0 8 9 5 8 8 9 9 8 6 9 7 9 7 7 7 7 8 5 8 8 8 1 0 9 7 1 0 1 0 6 8 8 1 0 1 0 1 0 9 1 3 9 1 1 6 9 8 1 0 8 3 8 6 9 5 5 3 4 6 5 6 0 5 0 36 4 5 3 1 4 7 4 5 6 8 6 9 18 0 9 7 9 7 6 4 36 6 0 6 5 11 0 5 9 1 0 5 9 10 2 8 6 9 0 15 2 3 7 6 8 5 4 7 0 46 4 7 4 6 11 3 4 4 4 5 2 4 14 1 38 6 8 5 5 4 5 12 1 23 0 15 6 -5 16 3 4 5 5 0 7 8 5 0 4 9 14 0 1 3 -3 4 9 4 5 -7 -10 -7 -19 6 -4 -11 -11 -8 -11 -2 -18 8 2 9 2 0 1 5 2 -28 -5 -17 28 -3 -25 -3 1 6 5 1 4 3 7 — 9 -4 8 -12 -10 -17 5 2 -6 -10 -23 1 5 -15 -5 -19 -1 2 0 6 1 1 7 -38 1 4 -21 1 0 -5 -20 3 0 -26 -36 -19 -22 1 5 2 0 7 1 6 2 7 2 3 2 1 8 1 5 2 2 1 4 1 3 1 5 26 4 9 3 2 3 4 2 5 -2 1 4 2 5 48 1 9 4 1 6 46 2 2 2 8 8 8 1 5 1 4 2 3 2 1 1 0 7 1 7 6 7 1 0 1 7 1 3 34 1 1 2 6 1 0 1 2 4 1 8 6 4 7 -10 36 1 6 1 3 5 0 1 1 8 4 7 -3 9 1 8 36 6 3 2 1 36 6 8 4 4 6 9 3 0 4 0 4 9 4 8 2 4 6 1 5 4 9 4 2 4 3 5 7 8 48 1 8 5 6 8 5 3 1 3 9 38 6 3 3 4 5 4 16 4 3 5 3 5 4 5 5 2 4 0 38 4 7 6 3 2 9 2 6 5 1 5 1 2 8 5 6 3 9 6 9 6 3 5 6 5 0 4 1 6 5 4 2 2 8 19 2 4 8 2 8 6 4 38 3 8 2 5 4 1 1Includes standard metropolitan a a of 25 00 inhabitants or m in 19 . Percent c a g , 1 4 to re s 0,0 ore 40 h n e 90 1 5 , not shown w 90 here less than 1 . Source: U. S. Bureau of the C ensus. Based on preliminary d ata. STU D IE S OF T H E AGED AND AGING 17 I N D U S T R I A L A N D O C C U P A T IO N A L T R E N D S Effect o f long-term occupational trends Changes in the occupational and industrial distribution of employ ment in the United States, over a period of decades, have had the net effect of restricting employment opportunities of older workers. The shift from a rural to a highly industrial economy i reflected in the s long-term decline of farm employment and in the expansion of such occupations as semiskilled operatives and clerical ana sales workers. These two expanding occupational fields today have a low proportion of employed workers 45 years of age and over, in comparison with other occupational groups. (See tables 14 and 15.) Table 13 and chart 3 show the changes in the occupational composi tion of the experienced labor force from 1910 to 1950. T a ble 13.—Percent distribution of the labor force by occupational groupt 1910-50 G roup Total.................................................... Professional persons......................................... Proprietors, m na ers, a officials...................... a g nd Farmers (ow a tenants)....................... ners nd Proprietors, m na ers, a officials (e e tfarm). a g nd xc p Clerks andkindred workers............................... Skilled workers a forem nd en............................. Semiskilled workers......................................... Unskilled workers........................................... Farm laborers........................................... Laborers, e e t farm.................................. xc p Service workers... ...................................... N o t e .— F 11 90 100.0 4.4 23.0 16.5 6.5 10.2 11.7 14.7 36.0 14.5 14.7 6.8 12 90 100.0 5.0 22.3 15.5 6.8 13.8 13.5 16.1 29.4 9.4 14.6 5.4 13 90 100.0 6.1 19.9 12.4 7.5 16.3 12.9 16.4 28.4 8.6 12.9 6.9 14 90 100.0 6.5 17.8 10.1 7.6 17.2 11.7 21.0 25.9 7.1 10.7 8.0 15 90 100.0 7.3 16.0 7.3 8.7 21.0 13.6 22.8 19.3 4.5 7.6 7.2 ig u re s do n o t n e ce ssa rily ad d to gro u p to ta ls because of ro u n d in g . Source: 1910-40: U. S. Bureau of the C ensus, Com parative O ccupation Statistics for the United States, 1 870-1940. 19 : Estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from ce d 50 nsus ata. STU D IE S OF T H E AGED AND AGING 18 Chart 3 OCCUPATIONAL TREN D S, 1910-1950 Percent of Total Workers Engaged in Each Field FARM AND UNSKILLED LABOR OCCUPATIONS DECLINED... 'FARMERS, Owners and Tenants FARM LABORERS LABORERS, Except Farm SKILLED WORKERS AND SERVICE WORKERS HELD THEIR OWN... SKILLED WORKERS AND FOREMEN SERVICE WORKERS, Household, Restaurant, Janitorial, etc. PROFESSIONAL PERSONS UNI1IO STATIS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Source: 0. S B . ureau of the Census. 1SI0 Estim ated by B ureau of Labor Statistics STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 19 EMPLOYM ENT B Y OCCUPATION, INDUSTRY, AND CLASS OF WORKER The relative proportions of older workers in various industries and occupations offer a guide as to the types of work in which they find employment opportunities. Differences in the age distribution of workers by industry and occupation may be due to a wide range of factors including: past employment trends, the relative age of an industry, the proportion of women employed, and the amount of train ing or experience required in a given field of work. Occupation Tables 14 and 15 show the occupational distribution of men and women in various age groups who were employed in April 1956. The data show that the occupational distribution of workers varies consid erably with age for both men and women. A m o n g men, there i a s marked increase in the relative proportion of those employed at ages 45 and over in the occupational groups of service workers and farm and nonfarm managers and proprietors. Older women, in comparison with younger age groups, are concentrated to a large extent in service occupations. Men . The largest proportion of employed men aged 45 to 64 years — are found among craftsmen, nonfarm managers and proprietors, and operatives. These are the occupational groups in which the largest relative proportions of employed men of al ages are found. At age l 65 and over, the largest proportion of men are employed as farmers and farm managers, nonfarm proprietors and managers, and crafts men. Operatives and kindred workers constitute the occupational group showing the sharpest decrease in the proportion of older men employed. Although about one-fourth of al employed men aged 14 to 44 work as l operatives, less than 10 percent of those 65 and over work in this occupational f e d The proportion of men employed as service work il. ers increases markedly with age. Less than 5 percent of men aged 25 to 44 are employed as service workers, and more than 10 percent of those 65 and over are found in this occupational f e d il. Women,— The largest proportion of employed older women are private household and service workers. A m o n g employed women 25 to 44 years of age, 20 percent work in these occupations. The pro portion increases to almost 28 percent of a l employed women 55 to 64, l and to nearly 44 percent of those 65 years and over. About 30 percent of a l employed women work in clerical and related l jobs. But the proportion of women in each age group who are clerical workers indicates that these jobs are relatively unavailable to older women. Almost half the employed women 20 to 24 are clerical work ers ;less than a fifth of the employed women 55 to 64 years of age are engaged in clerical or related work. About a fifth of employed women between the ages of 25 and 44 work as semiskilled factory workers and other operatives. However, the proportion declines with age and, among employed women 65 and over, less than 1 out of 10 works in this occupational f e d il. Industry As shown in table 16, there were wide variations in the age distribu tion of men employed, in 1953, in industries covered by old-age and survivors insurance. STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 20 The proportion of employed men 45 years and over ranged from a high of about 53 percent in anthracite mining, and 49 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate, to less than 15 percent in the air-transpor tation industry. A m o n g major manufacturing industries, the largest proportion of older men was found in apparel, tobacco, and leather industries. T able 14.— N u m b er o f employed persons by ma jo r occupation g ro u p , age , and sex, April 1956 [Thousands] Ae g Major occup tion g a roup Total em ployed............. ....... ........ ..... Professional, technical, a kindred nd workers_____ _______________ Farmers a farmm nd anagers_______ M anagers, officials, a proprietors, nd e e t farm--------------------xc p Clerical a kindred workers_______ nd Sales workers____ ___ _________ Craftsm en, forem en, a nd kindred workers______________ ___ _ O peratives a kindred workers......... nd Private household workers_______ . Service workers, e c p private house xet hold___ _______________ ____ Farm laborers a forem nd en___ _____ Laborers, e e t farm a mine......... xc p nd Total em lo m p yed ales................... ....... Professional, technical, a kindred nd workers......... ....... ................. . Farmers a farm m na ers________ nd a g M anagers, officials, a proprietors, nd e c p farm______ ________ xet Clerical a kindred workers............. nd Sales workers__________________ Craftsm en, forem en, a nd kindred workers___________________ _ O peratives a kindred workers......... nd Private household workers___ _____ Service workers, e e t private ho xc p use hold_______________ ___ ____ Farm laborers a forem nd en___r....... Laborers, e e t farm a m xc p nd ine......... ___ Total em lo fem les...........A ___ p yed a Professional, technical, a kindred ^d workers................... ................. Farmers a farm m nd anagers.............. M anagers, officials, a proprietors, nd e c p farm_________ _ xet _ . Clerical and kindred workers............. Sales workers_______ ____ _____ Craftsm en, forem en, a nd kindred workers___________________ O peratives a kindred workers...... . nd Private household workers.... ........... Service workers, e e t private house xc p hold...... ........... ....................... Farm laborers a forem nd en...... ........ Laborers, e e t farm a m xc p nd ine......... Total, 1 1 to 1 2 to2 2 to4 4 to 5 5 to 6 65a 4 4 9 0 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 nd over a over nd 63,990 4,205 5,378 29,580 12,869 8,551 3,404 6,053 3,882 6,295 9,056 4,002 8,490 12,861 2,142 5,309 2,381 3,520 43,718 8 2 5 8 9 89 0 58 3 17 0 79 3 34 2 57 2 62 0 43 1 2,553 5 6 3,280 5 9 1,342 9 1 2 2,773 5 1,416 4,274 2 5 1,732 3 4 5 4,494 5 1,288 6,746 65 6 15 2 3 8 2,082 9 72 2 18 9 4 8 1,472 5 3,137 2 , 7 1 0 7 1,102 83 7 1,824 1,524 87 2 1,927 2,384 48 0 1,022 39 8 50 9 8,724 72 6 73 9 1,095 84 3 47 8 1,185 1,401 33 8 82 9 27 9 41 2 5,948 21 7 77 1 42 4 20 0 13 8 3 22 3 04 37 3 39 8 13 7 16 6 2,586 3,928 3,683 5,363 2,952 2,522 8,237 9,313 3 1 2,712 1,549 3,427 20,272 3 8 5 6 9 12 8 32 4 12 0 53 8 6 26 6 55 5 43 1 1,654 12 8 16 5 41 4 2,241 2,357 1,296 2,423 1,484 1,197 4,734 4,893 1 6 96 2 3 86 1,419 8,809 62 2 85 2 1,528 49 8 47 6 186 , 5 1,665 2 50 2 14 7 56 7 4,146 48 6 79 3 98 0 34 6 27 5 1,152 91 3 7 53 5 15 5 44 1 2,604 16 8 60 7 37 6 19 2 17 2 3 10 23 4 2 25 6 13 2 14 6 88 1 2,125 19 9 92 3 6,104 1,480 23 5 3,548 2,111 2,597 82 3 9 3 4 4 2 29 9 2 2 4 1,112 13 0 1 2 20 9 15 2 26 1 4 2 1 7 93 2 4 6 30 5 2,790 55 3 10 2 1,853 69 4 1,156 36 3 5 3 40 8 4 8 26 9 1,035 30 6 7 1 79 1 46 0 52 0 25 1 1 4 24 9 5 4 17 8 40 7 20 3 3 3 40 7 38 7 39 3 12 4 7 8 5 4 7 7 5 7 1 5 6 1 2 6 1 25 3 14 2 50 2 67 2 16 9 5 16 5 38 1 21 6 4 7 27 5 9 7 18 2 34 0 12 3 43 4 98 9 Note— Estim ates a subject to sam re pling variation which m b la e in c se w ay e rg a s here the quantities show a relatively small. Therefore, the sm n re aller estim should b use with caution. Figures m ates o d ay not a d to totals b c u of rounding. d e a se Source: U. S. Departm of C m e e Bureau of the C ent o m rc , ensus. Based on unpublished data. STU D IE S OF T H E AGED AND AGING T ab le 21 15.—Percent distribution of employed persons by major occupation group, age, and sex, April 1956 Ae g Major occupation group Total em ployed_______ ___ _____ __ Professional, technical, a kindred nd workers________ ____ _______ Farmers a farmm na e nd a g rs........... . M anagers, officials, a proprietors, nd e e t farm__________________ xc p Clerical a kindred workers_______ nd Sales workers_______ ____ _____ Craftsm en, forem en, a nd kindred workers____________________ O peratives andkindred workers......... Private householdworkers________ Service workers, e c p private house xet hold_______________________ Farm laborers andforem en________ Laborers, e c p farm a mine_____ xet nd Total em lo m p yed ales______ ________ Professional, technical, a kindred nd workers___ _____________ ___ Farmers a farmm na ers.............. nd a g M anagers, officials, a proprietors, nd e c p farm_____________ ___ _ xet Clerical a kindred workers............ nd Sales workers__________________ Craftsm en, forem en, a nd kindred workers________________ ____ O peratives andkindred workers_____ Private bouseholdworkers___ _____ Service workers, e e t private house xc p hold_______________________ Farm laborers and forem en________ Laborers, e c p farm a mine_____ xet nd Total em lo fem p yed ales........................ Professional, technical, a kindred nd workers____________________ Farmers a farm m na ers.............. nd a g M anagers, officials, a proprietors, nd e c p farm_____ ___________ xet Clerical andkindred workers............. Sales workers ______ ___________ Craftsm en, forem en, and kindred workers______ ________ O peratives a kindred workers...... . nd Private household workers________ Service workers, e e t private house xc p hold_ ____________________ _ Farm laborers and forem en____ ____ Laborers, e c p farm a mine_____ xet nd Total, 1 1 to 1 20to 2 2 to 4 4 to 5 5 to6 6 a 4 4 9 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 nd andover over 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 9.5 6.1 9.8 14.2 6.3 13.3 20.1 3.3 8.3 3.7 5.5 100.0 2.0 1.4 .2 19.2 12.8 2.5 17.6 7.7 12.5 14.3 9.8 100.0 10.3 1.8 2.8 26.3 4.4 8.5 23.9 2.3 7.4 3.7 8.5 100.0 11.1 4.5 9.4 14.4 5.9 15.2 22.8 2.2 7.0 2.4 5.0 100.0 8.6 6.8 14.2 11.8 6.4 15.0 18.5 3.2 7.9 3.0 4.6 100.0 8.9 9.3 12.8 9.8 5.7 13.9 16.4 4.5 10.4 8.5 4.9 100.0 8.0 21.1 13.0 5.9 5.4 9.5 8.9 7.0 11.4 5.1 4.9 100.0 9.0 8.4 12.3 6.8 5.8 18.8 21.3 .1 6.2 3.5 7.8 100.0 1.5 2.2 .4 7.1 13.4 4.0 22.8 .2 10.4 21.7 16.2 100.0 8.2 3.1 4.1 9.7 4.2 14.1 31.8 5.8 5.0 14.1 100.0 11.3 6.2 11.7 7.1 5.8 21.1 23.6 .1 4.5 1.9 6.8 100.0 7.1 9.5 17.5 5.6 5.4 21.3 19.1 0) 6.0 2.0 6.6 100.0 7.9 12.4 15.3 6.1 4.3 19.4 15.7 .1 9.3 2.6 7.0 100.0 7.2 25.9 14.2 5.0 4.9 12.0 9.4 .1 10.2 4.8 6.3 100.0 10.5 1.0 46 . 30.1 7.3 1.2 17.5 10.4 12.8 4.1 .5 2.7 .1 13.3 .1 1.1 49.6 4.6 .5 12.9 5.6 9.6 1.9 .8 10.5 .5 4.0 31.7 6.1 1.4 21.0 7.4 13.1 3.8 .6 11.6 1.2 7.1 25.0 8.7 1.7 17.3 9.8 12.1 5.2 .3 11.3 2.1 7.2 18.0 8.8 1.3 18.0 14.5 13.0 5.5 .3 10.4 5.7 9.2 8.7 6.8 1.5 7.5 28.7 15.2 6.1 .2 37.9 11.8 .3 9.4 19.2 15.8 2.8 * L e s s th a n 0.05 p e rce n t. N o t e .— E stim a te s are su b je ct to sa m p lin g v a ria tio n w h ich m a y be larg e in cases w here the q u a n titie s show n are re la tiv e ly sm a ll. T h e re fo re , the sm a lle r e stim ate s sh o u ld be used w ith ca u tio n . F ig u re s m ay n o t a d d to to ta ls because of ro u n d in g . Source: 1 . S. Departm of C m e e Bureau of i h C 7 ent o m rc , e ensus. Based on unpublished da ta. 22 ST U D IE S OF T H E AGED AND A GING T a b l e 16 .— P e rce n t d is trib u tio n by age o f m ale w orkers in in d ustries covered by O A SI, 1953 Industry Total2- . ....................................... M ining..................................................... Metal m ining................................ Anthracite mining_____________ Bituminous and other soft-coal mining_____________________ Crude petroleum and natural gas production............................ Nonmetallic mining and quarry ing................................................. Contract construction......................... Manufacturing...................................... Apparel and other finished products...................................... Tobacco manufacturers-............... Leather and leather products___ Textile mill products__________ Printing, publishing, and allied industries..................................... Lumber and wood products (except furniture).-.................... Miscellaneous manufacturing industries............ ......................... Products of petroleum and coal— Machinery (except electrical)___ Primary metal industries______ btone, clay, and glass products. _ Furniture and fixtures-------------Rubber products--------------------Fabricated metal products.......... Food and kindred products____ Chemicals and allied products. __ Instruments and related prod ucts________________________ Paper and allied.products........... Transportation equipment_____ Electrical machinery, equip ment, and supplies____ ______ Ordnance and accessories............. Transportation, communication, and other public utilities 4_______ Local railways and bus lines........ Trucking and warehousing.......... Highway transportation, not elsewhere classified..................... Water transportation.................... Transportation by air.................. Pipeline transportation.............. Services incidental to transpor tation. ........................................... Telecommunications---------------Utilities and sanitary services__ Wholesale and retail trade.................. Finance, insurance, and real estate. Service industries____ _____ _______ Under 45 years Total, all ages i Total Under 25 to 25 44 45 years and over Total 45 to 54 17.7 20.3 19.8 29.7 22.4 16.7 19.3 19.0 17.1 55 to 65 and 64 over 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 65.5 64.0 64.8 47.0 59.5 72.3 63.4 64.1 67.3 17.1 11.6 14.4 3 2.1 6.2 17.5 13.9 15.1 16.5 48.4 52.4 50.3 44.8 53.4 54.8 49.4 49.0 50.8 34.5 36.0 35.2 53.0 40.5 27.7 36.6 35.9 32.7 11.8 13.1 11.8 20.6 15.9 9.0 13.1 12.1 11.3 5.0 2.6 « 3. 7 3 2.8 3 2.2 «2.1 3 4.2 4.8 4.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 58.0 18.5 59.7 *19.3 59.8 21.2 62.9 15.6 63.1 18.3 63.7 18.0 64.3 20.4 64.5 8.8 64.6 13.1 64.9 11.7 66.4 16.9 66.6 19.2 67.0 13.5 68.8 17.6 68.9 21.8 69.4 12.3 69.6 14.1 70.0 18.6 73.2 15.6 73.8 19.1 75.1 15.1 39.6 40.5 38.7 47.2 44.8 45.7 44.0 55.7 51.5 53.1 49.6 47.4 53.5 51.2 47.1 57.1 55.4 51.4 57.6 54.7 60.1 42.0 16.5 17.1 40.3 3 19.3 3 15.1 40.2 15.8 15.2 37.1 18.9 13.2 36.9 17.4 12.8 36.3 19.1 12.0 35.7 15.6 13.6 35.5 21.4 12.2 35.4 17.8 12.6 35.1 18.3 12.9 33.6 18.1 11.0 33.4 16.5 10.7 33.0 18.9 11.3 31.2 16.3 10.6 31.1 16.5 10.6 30.6 17.8 9.7 30.4 16.2 10.0 30.0 15.6 10.3 26.8 15.7 8.8 26.2 15.1 8.6 24.9 14.0 9.1 8.3 3 5.9 9.1 5.0 6.6 5.3 6.5 * 1.9 5.0 4.0 4.5 6.2 3 2.8 4.4 4.0 3.1 3 4.2 4.1 2.3 2.5 «1.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 68.3 57.5 74.8 61.3 59.4 86.8 58.9 65.2 71.5 64.0 67.0 50.6 60.1 12.4 3 4.0 13.5 7.9 9.6 14.2 3 4.9 3 15.9 18.0 13.1 21.9 8.9 18.1 55.9 53.5 61.3 53.4 49.8 72.6 54.1 49.3 53.5 51.0 45.1 41.8 42.0 31.7 42.5 25.2 38.7 40.6 13.2 41.1 34.8 28.5 36.0 33.0 49.4 39.9 19.0 10.2 22.8 16.5 15.8 7.1 23.1 12.4 22.5 13.9 3 9.8 3 2.9 3 24.0 3 15.0 3 17.6 3 11.4 18.3 8.7 21.5 12.4 17.0 11.0 20.7 18.1 18.1 13.9 2.5 3 3.2 2.4 » 3.2 4.2 3.5 3 2.0 3 5.8 3 1.5 2.1 5.0 10.5 7.9 1 Excludes age not reported. Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. 2 Includes workers covered under OASI in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, government, and establish ments not classified or nonclassifiable. 2 Fewer than 100 persons in sample. 4 Excludes interstate railroads. Source: U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance. Based on tabulation of 1 percent sample. S T U D IE S OF THE AGED AND 23 A G IN G Glass of worker T a b le r is e s 17 sh ow s s h a r p ly th at w ith th e age. r e la tiv e A b o u t 1 im p o r ta n c e o f 7 o f e m p lo y e d s e lf-e m p lo y m e n t m en under w a s c la s s e d a s s e lf - e m p lo y e d in A p r i l 1 9 5 6 , c o m p a r e d w i t h age 45 1 in 4 a g e d 4 5 -6 4 a n d 1 in 2 f o r m e n p a s t 64. M a n y ow n w o rk ers acco u n t, ten d a fte r to th ey open t h e ir a c q u ire ow n th e b u s in e s s , o r r e q u is ite w o rk e x p e r ie n c e on or t h e ir c a p it a l. I n p a r t , h o w e v e r , t h is p a t t e r n is a ls o t h e r e s u lt o f c u r t a i le d o p p o r t u n i t ie s f o r w a g e o r s a la r i e d e m p lo y m e n t a t a d v a n c e d a g e s . T a b l e 17.— E m ployed persons hy class o f tvo rk er , agef and sex , A p r il 1956 Number (thousands) Age and sex Total Percent of total Wage and Self-employed Wage and Self-employed salary salary and unpaid and unpaid family family workers workers workers workers M ALES 43, 720 5,690 20,771 8,724 5,949 2,586 5,346 896 1, 724 1,008 910 808 34, 569 4,892 17,500 6, 541 4,216 1,420 1,185 299 418 218 137 113 9,151 798 3,271 2,183 1,733 1,166 4,161 597 1, 306 790 773 695 79.1 86.0 84.3 75.0 70.9 54.9 22.2 33.4 24.2 21.6 15.1 14.0 20.9 14.0 15.7 25.0 29.1 45.1 77.8 66.6 75.8 78.4 84.9 86.0 38,374 4, 794 19,047 7, 716 5,039 1, 778 33,384 4,593 17, 082 6, 323 4,079 1, 307 4,990 201 1, 965 1, 393 960 471 87.0 95.8 89.7 81.9 80.9 73.5 13.0 4.2 10.3 18.1 19.1 26.5 20,275 3, 898 8,807 4,146 2,606 818 1,041 19, 234 Total employed, 14 and over....... 14 to 24___________________ 25 to 44___________________ 45 to 54..................................... 55 to 64_________ ____ _____ 65 and over_______________ Agriculture, 14 and over____ 14 to 24_______________ 25 to 44_______________ 45 to 54_______________ 55 to 64_______________ 65 and over.. ............. Nonagricultural industries, 14 and over_____________ 14 to 24______ _______ 25 to 44_______________ 45 to 54_______________ 55 to 64_______________ 65 and over____________ 17, 794 3, 791 7,804 3,503 2, 067 629 140 17, 654 2,481 107 1,003 643 539 189 901 1,580 87.8 97.3 88.6 84.5 79.3 76.9 13.4 91.8 12.2 2.7 11.4 15.5 20.7 23.1 86.6 8.2 FEM ALES Total employed, 14 and over___ 14 to 24___________________ 25 to 44.._________________ 45 to 54___________________ 55 to 64___________________ 65 and over_______________ Agriculture, 14 and over. Nonagricultural indus tries, 14 and over......... N .—Estimates are subject to sampling variation which may be large in cases where the numbers shown are relatively small. Therefore, the smaller estimates should be used with caution. Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, unpublished data ote DURATION OF EM PLOYM EN T T h e n u m b e r o f y e a rs fa c t o r in th e s ig n ific a n t e ffe c t s le n g t h o f s e r v ic e . s io n e m p lo y e d on h is e m p lo y m e n t s ta tu s o f th e p ro gram s on r ig h ts and an im p o rta n t w o rk e r, w ith e s p e c ia lly r e la te d is b e n e fits based on T h e s e in c lu d e p o t e n t ia l b e n e fits u n d e r p r i v a t e p e n w h ic h p a r t ic u la r e m p lo y e r. s e n io rity c u rre n t jo b o ld e r are g e n e r a lly re la te d to y e a rs o f s e r v ic e w ith a 24 ST U D IE S T h e e x te n t to w h ic h has by no a OF T H E 1951. T h e m a te ly su rv e y stu d y m ade 59 m illio n p erso n s F o r based by s o u g h t to t h e ir c u r r e n t jo b s . AND A GING a la r g e se c to r o f th e o ld e r w o r k in g p o p u la t io n s u b s t a n t ia l p ro t e c t io n s a m p le AGED th e on a s c e rt a in th e e m p lo y e d w age le n g t h B u re a u and in o f o f s e r v ic e th e le n g t h 1951 s trik e s , th o u gh th e s h o rt-te rm p erso n m ay la y o ffs , have e tc .) w o rk ed w ith a J an u ary th e a p p ro x i h ad w o rk ers, a jo b in t h is s u r v e y a s a c o n tin u o u s p e r io d o f e m p lo y m e n t t io n s , in d ic a t e d in o f t im e J an u ary s a la r y is C en su s w o rk ed w as at d e fin e d (e x c e p t f o r v a c a s in g le e m p lo y e r, even a t s e v e ra l d iffe r e n t o c c u p a tio n s w h ile w o r k in g f o r t h a t e m p lo y e r. T a b le r e c t ly 18 a v e ra g e fo r sh ow s w ith age, p e r io d w om en. th at bu t o f jo b M u ch d u ra tio n th at, ten u re o f o f e m p lo y m e n t p a r tic u la rly th e w as in an d fa m ily r e s p o n s ib ilit ie s . th e fa m ily g r o u p th e to v a ry d i g ro u p s, age gre a ter re fle c t s T h e ten d ed o ld e r s ig n ific a n t ly d iffe re n c e c h a ra c te r o f th e la b o r fo r c e p a r t ic ip a t io n h o ld th e th e fo r m ore m en th an in te rm itte n t o f w o m en because o f h ou se presen ce o f you n g c h ild r e n in a c ts a s a s t r o n g d e t e rr e n t to c o n tin u o u s e m p lo y m e n t o n th e p a r t o f th e m o th er. A g e s 4 5 t o 5 4 y e a rs In 8 1951 in m illio n w om en th e m en, h ad age and been g ro u p 45 to a lm o s t on th e ir 54 y e a rs o n e -fo u r t h cu rren t a b o u t tw o -fifth s jo b s o f about o f e m p lo y e d s in c e 3 m illio n b e fo re W o rld a lm o s t W a r II. A lm o s t h a lf o f a ll th e w o r k e r s o f th e se a g e s h a d o b t a in e d t h e ir c u r r e n t jo b s 60 s in c e S ep te m b e r p ercen t o f c u r r e n t jo b s th e w as 1945— a b o u t w om en. 7 .6 fo r T h e m en 40 p ercen t m e d ia n and 4 .0 o f th e num ber fo r w om en m en o f and y e a rs w o rk ers a lm o s t on in t h e ir th is age g ro u p . A g e s 5 5 t o 6 4 y e a rs T h e th e d ata g reater d e n c y , w ith th is age p ercen t a ll m en o f 50 E q u a lly or w h o w h ic h n ew about h e ld ages in w h o th an 35 T h e d ata th e la b o r p ercen t m en an d in d ic a t e fo rc e w om en o f 64 million c u rren t th e cu rren t m en V -J and in t h e ir e ffo rts c a lle d to m a jo r it y n o rm al a tta c h m e n t. fin d o f e m p lo y m e n t. a ll w o rk ers re tire m e n t F o r m en age aged o f 55 to In aged D a y m ay 65, to are 10 In 30 y e a rs jo b s fo u n d new 64, th e m e d ia n 55 th o se jo b s a ls o r e fle c t t h e been exposed o ld e r w o rk e rs th e d ata in d ic a t e 64, a p p ro a c h in g w ith o u t s in c e n e a r ly o f have a d d it io n , 55 ten and w o rk ers in r e c e n t y e a r s t o t h e s p e c ia l d iffic u lt ie s e n c o u n t e r e d b y th a t th e bo th s u b s t a n t ia l p r o p o r t io n th e ir w a r age m en jo b s H o w e v e r, th ey th is r e fle c t d e c re a s in g attach m en ts. th at a fte r o f to th e jo b 5 th e ir o b t a in e d a f t e r t h e c e s s a tio n o f w a r p r o d u c t io n . e x te n t to fo r 55 and s ig n ific a n t , h o w e v e r , is t h e th ese 1945— m o re stay ed o f h ad aged c a re e rs se a rc h p ercen t w om en p e rc e n t o f th e w o m e n . ages w o rk ers w o rk in g y e a rs , to m illio n w o rk ers w om en th e ir a lm o s t 1 .7 S ep te m b e r and o f a d v a n c in g g ro u p o r m ore. o f fo r le n g t h th e so- lo n g -s t a n d in g jo b n u m ber o f y ears on t h e i r c u r r e n t j o b w a s 9 . 3 ; f o r w o m e n i t w a s 4 .5 y e a r s . A g e s 65 a n d o v e r In th e w om en o ld e s t w h o have age gro u p h e ld t h e ir g r e a t e r s t a b ilit y th e ir in th e 2.2 p ro p o rtio n jo b s e m p lo y m e n t. o v e r , a b o u t 55 p e r c e n t o f a lm o s t la r g e r cu rren t m ore A m o n g m illio n m en o f th an bo th w o rk ers and m en 10 y e a r s aged and r e fle c t s 65 and a b o u t 35 p e rc e n t S T U D IE S o f about W o rld 0 .5 m i l l i o n W a r II. th an a w om en h ad AGED h e ld AND th e ir 25 AGING cu rren t jo b s H o w e v e r , a lm o s t 30 p e r c e n t o f th e m e n cen t o f th e w o m e n M o re OF T H E o b t a in e d fo u rth o f th e t h e ir c u r r e n t jo b s w om en 65 and s in c e over s in c e b e fo re and 50 p e r S ep te m b e r h ad 1945. o b t a in e d th e ir c u r r e n t jo b s s in c e J a n u a r y 1 950. T able 18 .— D u ra tio n o f em ploym ent on cu rre n t jobs by age and sew o f w orkers , Ja n u a ry 1951 Age Date current job started Total, 65 and 14 and 14-17 18-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 over over BOTH SEX ES Total (in thousands)___ ____ _____ 59,010 1,932 1,982 6, 511 14,029 13,473 11, 097 7, 283 Percent--------------. . ------ --------------- 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 January 1950-January 1951____ 29.0 65.4 49.5 45.4 33.0 24.1 19.1 16.2 September 1945-December 1949. 35.0 25.3 28.0 47.2 47.4 35.7 26.2 23.9 December 1941-August 1945___ 11.6 4.2 1.6 4.7 10.8 15.0 15.0 13.0 .9 .5 3.8 5.7 5.9 5.7 January 1940-November 1941... 4.4 .9 .2 .2 3.4 17.3 31.4 38.8 Before 1940__________________ 17.6 Not reported_____ ___________ 2.3 4.1 1.7 2.1 1.6 2.2 2.5 2.3 .6 1.3 2.6 3.2 6.3 8.0 Median years on current job_____ 3.4 .7 2,702 100.0 15.8 17.1 11.0 5.6 46.4 4.1 10+ M ALE Total (in thousands)___ _________ 41.433 1,273 1,055 3, 954 10,104 9,424 7, 909 5, 550 Percent..______________ ________ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 January 1950-January 1951____ 26.1 61.7 68.7 47.0 29.7 21.2 16.7 14.6 September 1945-December 1949. 34.7 27.7 25.2 45.6 51.3 36.2 23.6 21.0 December 1941-August 1945___ 11.6 6.0 2.8 4.4 9.8 15.3 14.6 12.8 .8 3.7 6.0 6.4 5.6 January 1940-November 1941__ 4.7 1.3 1.6 .2 .3 3.9 19.1 36.2 43.6 Before 1940.________ ______ ... 20.7 Not reported_________________ 2.2 3.3 1.2 1.9 1.5 2.1 2.4 2.4 .8 \ - 6 1.2 2.8 4.5 7.6 9.3 Median years on current job______ 3.9 2,164 100. d 13.2 15.4 11.0 5.5 50.8 4.1 10+ FEM ALE Total (in thousands)_____________ 17, 577 659 927 2,557 3,925 4, 049 3,188 1,733 Percent __ __ . . ______ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 January 1950-January 1951____ 36.1 72.6 66.2 42.8 41.1 30.9 24.6 21.2 September 1945-December 1949. 35.8 20.8 31.2 49.7 37.6 34.4 32.6 33.1 .9 .2 5.1 13.4 14.2 16.1 13.9 December 1941-August 1945___ 11.7 4.1 5.0 4.5 6.1 3.7 January 1940-November 1941... 12.9 19.5 23.5 2.2 .2 .2 10.2 Before 1940.________ _______ 2.5 5.8 2.3 2.3 1.8 2.6 2.7 2.2 Not reported_________________ 1.4 1.8 3.1 4.0 4.5 2.2 .5 .6 Median years on current job______ 538 100.0 26.5 24.2 10.6 6.3 28.6 3.9 4.9 N o t e .—Percent not shown where base is less than 100,000. Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, series P-50, No. 36: Experience of Workers at Their Current Jobs, January 1951. EX TEN T A N D DURATION OF U N EM PLO Y M EN T OF OLDER WORKERS Depression experience U n d e r d e p re s s io n c o n d itio n s , th e e m p lo y m e n t p r o b le m s o f th e o ld e r w o r k e r s a re g r e a t ly in t e n s ifie d . p lo y e d a t th e t im e o f t h e M a r c h A b o u t 8 m illio n w o rk ers w ere 1940 cen su s, w h ic h fo llo w e d unem a decade m a r k e d b y s e v e re d e p r e s s io n , p a r t i a l r e c o v e r y , a n d t h e s h a r p re c e s s io n o f 1 9 3 7 -3 8 . o f w age L o n g -te rm a n d s a la r y u n e m p lo y m e n t (a s m e a s u r e d b y th e p r o p o r t io n w o rk ers s e e k in g w o r k 6 m o n th s o r m o re ) w as a l- 26 S T U D IE S m o st t w ic e you n ger as sev e re a d u lt T h e p a tte rn e rs w e re am on g w o rk ers b e in g m en b e tw e e n o f d u ra tio n not OF T H E AGED AND 55 y e a r s 25 an d o f 44 AG IN G age an d y e a rs o f over age as am on g (t a b le 1 9 ). o f u n e m p lo y m e n t in d ic a t e s t h a t o ld e r w o r k la id o ff at a g reater rate th an you n ger p e rso n s. H o w e v e r , o n c e u n e m p lo y e d , t h e o ld e r w o r k e r e x p e r ie n c e d g r e a t e r d iffi c u lty le d in fin d in g m an y o ld e r a n o th e r m en to jo b . L a c k abandon c a p a b le o f w o r k in g , a n d to w it h d r a w la b o r fo r c e p a r t ic ip a t io n s h a r p ly fro m o f th e jo b fro m fo r w o rk , aged 65 a n d 1930 to 42 p e rc e n t in 1940. p r o b a b ly a lt h o u g h th e la b o r fo rc e . o f m a le w o r k e r s 54 p e rc e n t in o p p o r t u n it ie s se a rc h s t ill T h e rate o f o ld e r d r o p p e d (S e e t a b le 6 .) T a ble 19 .— P e rce n t o f wage and salary w orkers in each age group seeking w o rk , by d u ra tio n o f u nem ploym ent , A p r il 1940 Total exper ienced wage and salary workers Age 14 to 24_______ _______________ 25 to 34_______ ______ ________ 35 to 44_______________________ 45 to 54_______________________ 55 to 64___________ ______ ____ _ 65 and over___________________ Percent seeking work Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Under 6 months 6 to 11 months 7.5 4.4 3.8 4.1 4.5 3.9 14.5 8.9 8.5 10.3 13.6 13.1 12 months and over 3.4 1.8 1.8 2.1 2.8 2.6 3.6 2.7 2.9 4.1 6.3 6.6 Source: Adapted from 16th Census of Population, 1940: The Labor Force, Employment and Personal Characteristics, U. S. Bureau of the Census. Recent experience E v en in 1953, a p e r io d o f m in im u m u n e m p lo y m e n t , u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te s f o r w a g e a n d s a la r y w o r k e r s a g e d 45 a n d o v e r w e r e h ig h e r t h a n f o r y o u n g e r a d u lt s over. aged (2 5 t o 4 4 ), a n d M o re o v e r, th e 65 an d over av erage w as a p p re c ia b ly so f o r w o r k e r s 65 a n d d u ra tio n about t w ic e o f u n e m p lo y m e n t f o r as gre a t as fo r w o rk ers you n ger a d u lt s , a c c o rd in g to u n p u b lis h e d cen su s d a ta . W i t h t h e r is e in u n e m p lo y m e n t b e g in n in g in la t e 1953, o ld e r w o r k e r s w e r e h it h a r d e r t h a n y o u n g e r a d u lt s , b u t a t a la t e r s t a g e o f th e d o w n tu rn . B e t w e e n t h e fir s t q u a r t e r o f 1953 a n d t h e c o r r e s p o n d in g p e r io d o f 1954 th e u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te s o f w o r k e r s 25 t o 4 4 a n d c re a se d q u a rte rs m ore o f c o n tin u e d th an 1954 to th o se an d r is e , o f 1955 w h ile o ld e r th e th o se w ork ers. B u t u n e m p lo y m e n t o f w o rk ers rates under 45 to b e tw e e n o f 55 o ld e r 54 in th e fir s t w o rk ers d e c lin e d . T h is w a s p a r t l y b e c a u s e m o s t o f th e in d u s t r ie s t h a t e x p e r ie n c e d th e g r e a t e s t e m p lo y m e n t d e c lin e s h ad e s p e c ia lly la r g e p ro p o rtio n s o f w o rk ers o f m a tu re a g e , p a r tic u la rly m en . A s s h o w n in t a b le 20, o ld e r w o r k e r s h a v e b e n e fite d , a lo n g w it h g r o u p s in th e w o r k in g p o p u la t io n , fr o m o p p o r tu n it ie s in 1955 and 1956. H o w ever, u n e m p lo y m e n t rates w o r k e r s 4 5 y e a r s a n d o v e r in t h e fir s t q u a r t e r o f 195 6 c o n t in u e d th e ra te s f o r y o u n g e r a d u lt w o r k e r s a g e d 25 to 44, a n d th e g r o u p 65 an d over c o n tin u e d to show th e h ig h e s t a m o n g w o rk e rs 25 y e a rs o f a g e a n d o ver. o th er th e e x p a n s io n o f e m p lo y m e n t rate o f fo r above aged u n e m p lo y m e n t ST U D IE S OF THE AGED A N D 27 A G IN G T a ble 2 0 .— U nem ploym ent r a te s 1 f o r wage and salary w orkers by age , 1st q u a rter , 1958-56 Age 1953 Total, 14 and over__ _________________________________ _ 14 to 24___ ________________________________________ 25 to 44____________________________________________ 45 to 54____________________________________________ 55 to 64________________________________________ ____ 65 and over _________________________ ____ _____ 1954 3.4 5.7 2.6 3.0 3.9 4.4 1955 6.6 11.5 5.5 5.6 5.9 6.7 1956 6.3 9.9 5.3 5.0 6.7 7.4 5.2 9.0 4.1 4.6 5.1 5.6 i Percent of wage and salary workers unemployed, estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from census data. A breakdown for the unemployed by class of worker was not available, but it was assumed or this purpose that all the unemployed could be classed as wage and salary workers. V ir t u a lly a ll su rv e y s o f th e u n e m p lo y e d show th at th e w o r k e r t h e lo n g e r h is p e r io d o f u n e m p lo y m e n t is lik e ly u n e m p lo y e d a v e ra g e , w o rk ers th an a ls o you n ger h ave m o re u n e m p lo y e d s p e lls o f p erso n s. o ld e r to be. th e O ld e r u n e m p lo y m e n t , o n F o r e x a m p le , o f th e m en u n e m p lo y e d a t a n y t im e d u r i n g 1 9 5 5 , t h e p r o p o r t i o n w h o lo s t 15 w e e k s o r m o r e , o r w h o s u ffe r e d m o r e t h a n 1 s p e ll o f u n e m p lo y m e n t , in c r e a s e d w it h a g e , a f t e r a g e 24, a s s h o w n in t a b le 21. T ab le 21.— E x te n t o f unem ploym ent in 1955 o f men who were unem ployed at anytim e d uring the year , by age Percent with Percent with more than 1 15 weeks or spell of un more of un employ employ ment ment Age 14 to 19 years________ ___________________________________________ _____ 20 to 24 vears__________________________________ _____________________ 25 to 44 years______ _______________ ___ _________ __________________ 45 to 64 years______________________________ _______________ ____ _____ 65 years and over_____________________________________ _ __ _____ 29 24 30 41 55 44 38 44 50 55 Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series P-50, No. 68, table 13. W o r k E x p e r ie n c e of M e n a n d W o m e n i n 1955 A stu d y o f w o rk e x p e r ie n c e am on g m en an d w om en d u r in g 1955, m a d e b y th e B u r e a u o f th e C e n su s, sh o w s th a t th e p r o p o rt io n w h o h a d any e m p lo y m e n t d e c lin e d d u r in g s h a r p ly a fte r th e age year 65. d ro p p ed T h e m a rk e d ly p r e v a le n c e o f at age 55, a n d in te rm itte n t or p a r t -t im e e m p lo y m e n t in c r e a s e d a f t e r a g e 65 (t a b le 2 2 ). T h e p ro p o rtio n o f m e n a n d w o m e n in ea ch a g e g r o u p w h o h ad any e m p lo y m e n t d u r in g 1955 a n d th e d is t r ib u t io n o f th e se w o r k e r s a c c o rd in g to th e e x te n t o f t h e ir e m p lo y m e n t d u r in g th e y e a r a r e s h o w n in th e a c c o m p a n y in g ta b le . som e m en 50 w ork e x p e r ie n c e w o rk ed w eeks w o rk ed fu ll or tim e m o r e ). d u r in g A lm o s t a ll m e n b e tw e e n th e a g e s o f 25 a n d 54 h a d in 1955 th e and w h o le R e la t iv e ly th e y e a r and a m o re year fe w e r and a n y t im e d u r i n g h ad fu ll-t im e o ver, o f w h o m 1955. O n ly y e a r-ro u n d t h r e e -fo u r t h s le a s t m en 35 h o u rs 55 y ears s m a lle r p r o p o r t io n p lo y e d a t f u ll-t im e y e a r -r o u n d jo b s . 65 y e a r s o ld th an (a t o ld th em o f an d w ere le s s t h a n h a lf h a d fo r over em w o rk ed o v e r h a lf o f th ese o ld e r e m p lo y m e n t a n d about at w o rk ers 37 p e rc e n t w e re p a r t - t i m e jo b s o r w o r k e d f o r a h a l f y e a r o r le s s a t f u l l - t i m e jo b s . th ese w eek T h is is p a r t ic u la r ly t r u e o f m e n s lig h tly a lit t le o f a on 28 ST U D IE S OF T H E M o r e th a n h a lf o f a ll w o m e n m en t d u r in g 1955. W o rk y e a rs o ld a n d o v e r. 16 p e rc e n t o f th o se t im e aged 25 d u r in g to 44 aged or h ad th e fu ll-t im e 65 a n d w as year O f over, h a d jo b s tor (4 6 p ercen t) w om en 65 som e th at w as y e a rs or w h o o f w h it e w om en w h o w ork have le s s th at It r e g u la r w om en w o rk ed o n ly d u r in g by a at p a r t t im e is p e r t in e n t to w o rk ed w om en H o w w o rk in g fo r o ver, w h o w o rk ed le s s . w om en th o se 55 e m p lo y m e n t. m a rg in — 60 p e rc en t, as c o m p a re d w ith 44 p ercen t. n o n w h it e fo r 55 to 64, a n d o n ly above an d t h r e e -fift h s a h a lf y e a r o f n o n w h it e exceeded so m e e m p lo y - le a s t c o m m o n w o rk e rs 45 to 54 y e a rs o f a g e th e y e a r, n e a r ly th a t th e p ro p o rtio n c h a r a c t e r is t ic a lly AGING a g e d 35 to 54 y e a rs h a d e x p e r ie n c e o f w om en y ears. s o m e t im e d u r i n g AND A b o u t tw o -fifth s o f th o se a g e d e v e r, th e p ro p o rtio n fu ll AGED n o te th e y e a r c o n s id e ra b le I t is a ls o t r u e t h a t e m p lo y m e n t th an do w h it e w o m e n w o r k e r s . T a b le 22 .— W o rk experience d uring 1955 o f the c iv ilia n n on in s titu tion a l p o p u la t io n b y age and sex Age and sex Total, 14 and over......... Male, 14 and over_____ 14 to 19...................... 14 to 17.............. 18 to 19............... 20 to 24___________ 25 to 34..................... 35 to 44...................... 45 to 54..................... 55 to 59...................... 60 to 64..................... 65 to 69___________ 70 and over............. Female, 14 and over___ 14 to 19— ............... 14 to 17............... 18 to 19......... . 20 to 24..................... 25 to 34..................... 35 to 44................ — 45 to 54..................... 55 to 59...................... 60 to 64....... .............. 65 to 69...................... 70 and over..... ......... Worked during 1955 Popu Full-time jobs (per lation cent distribution) (thou sands) Number Percent Total (thou of pop (per sands) ulation cent) Year- 27 to 49 26 round weeks weeks or less 115,164 54,876 6,447 4,659 1,788 3,814 11,051 10,858 9,246 3,782 3, 213 2, 555 3,910 60,288 6,731 4,585 2,146 5,311 12,136 11,615 9,590 3,991 3,430 2,757 4,727 75,353 47,624 4,159 2,541 1,618 3, 509 10,835 10,681 9,008 3,547 2,776 1,743 1,366 27,729 3,171 1,663 1,508 3,367 5,688 6,112 5,132 1,744 1,323 714 478 65.4 86.8 64.5 54.5 90.5 92.0 98.0 98.4 97.4 93.8 86.4 68.2 34.9 46.0 47.1 36.3 70.3 63.4 46.9 52.6 53.5 43.7 38.6 25.9 10.1 100 56.6 100 67.5 100 11.5 100 5.2 100 21.5 100 47.6 100 76.9 100 79.8 100 77.6 100 74.4 100 68.6 100 56.9 100 43.2 100 37.9 100 10.8 100 1.1 100 21.6 100 37.0 100 38.7 100 42.2 100 46.3 100 46.4 100 43.6 100 33.6 100 25.7 15.9 15.5 8.2 3.3 15.8 23.1 16.2 15.4 15.3 15.6 18.0 15.0 8.7 16.5 9.6 3.8 16.0 20.0 18.8 17.6 16.9 16.0 14.7 14.3 7.7 10.6 7.0 24.9 21.7 29.9 19.4 4.1 2.4 3.1 4.3 5.5 10.9 9.8 16.9 32.0 26.6 38.0 27.4 20.2 11.9 8.6 10.1 10.4 9.1 8.3 Part-time jobs (per cent distribution) 3 Year- 27 to 49 26 round weeks weeks or less 6.3 4.1 21.0 26.1 13.1 3.6 1.3 1.0 1.6 2.2 3.7 6.9 17.2 10.3 9.4 12.7 5.8 3.2 7.1 10.9 12.8 13.9 15.9 18.5 26.2 3.4 2.2 10.1 10.3 9.9 3.0 .8 .8 1.2 1.4 1.3 3.5 7.9 5.4 7.9 10.1 5.6 3.4 4.1 5.3 5.9 4.0 6.5 9.1 10.8 7.2 3.8 24.2 33.4 9.8 3.4 .7 .6 1.2 1.9 3.0 6.7 13.1 13.0 30.2 45.7 13.1 9.1 11.0 12.0 9.5 9.7 9.0 15.4 21.1 1 The figures relate to all persons 14 years of age and over who were in the civilian noninstitutional popu lation in the January 1956 survey week. 2 Less than 35 hours per week in a majority of the weeks in which an individual worked during 1955. N ote.—F igures may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-50. ST U D IE S OF T H E AGED AND 29 AGING OLDER WORKERS IN T H E EXPERIEN CED LABOR RESERVE T h e e x te n t to w h ic h o ld e r w o rk e rs c o n s t it u t e a s ig n ific a n t p a r t o f th e e x p e r ie n c e d la b o r r e s e r v e is s h o w n b y a s u r v e y m a d e b y th e B u r e a u o f th e C e n s u s in M arch 1951. T h e su rv e y in d ic a t e d th a t th ere w e re r o u g h ly 13 m i lli o n p e r s o n s a g e d 2 0 y e a r s a n d o v e r w h o w e r e n o t in t h e la b o r fo r c e a t t h a t t im e a n d n o t d is a b le d w h o h a d s u b s t a n t ia l p a id -w o r k W a r II. M en and w om en 45 f o r fu r t h e r e m p lo y m e n t b u t e x p e r ie n c e s in c e o u r e n t r y in t o W o r l d y e a rs o f age an d over c o n s t it u t e d 4 y2 m illio n o f th e se e x p e r ie n c e d w o r k e r s .1 A m o n g t h e t o t a l 13 m i lli o n a b o u t 85 p e rc e n t, w e r e e x p e r ie n c e d w om en. O f w o rk e rs, som e th ese, th e g ro u p 11 m illio n , c o n s t it u t in g th e la r g e s t p o t e n t ia l s o u r c e o f r e s e r v e m a n p o w e r w e r e th e a lm o s t 6 m illio n w o m e n w it h o u t c h ild r e n u n d e r 6 y e a r s o ld . W it h in 2 m illio n w o m e n w e r e 45 to 64 y e a rs o f a g e a n d lio n w e r e 65 y e a r s a n d O n ly th is g r o u p , a b o u t a n a d d i t i o n a l 0 .5 m i l o ver. a b o u t 2^4 m illio n p e r ie n c e d la b o r re s e rv e . m e n w e re n u m b e r e d a m o n g th o se in th e e x A m o n g th ese m e n , 75 p e rc e n t w e re 45 y e a rs a n d o v e r a n d a b o u t h a lf , o r m o r e t h a n a m illio n , w e r e a g e d 65 a n d o v e r. A b o u t 1 .2 m i l l i o n w e re 45 y e a rs W a r II. O f o f age m en a n d a lm o s t th e s a m e n u m b e r o f w o m e n and over w o rk ed th e se , a lm o s t h a l f a b oth m illio n d u r in g m en and and a a fte r m illio n w ho W o rld w om en w e re b e tw e e n th e a g e s o f 45 a n d 64. S k ille d c ra fts m e n a re th e o c c u p a tio n a l g r o u p m ost u rg e n t cu rren t an d a n tic ip a t e d dem and. e s t i m a t e d 6 3 4 ,0 0 0 i n t h i s o c c u p a t i o n a l g r o u p reserve, m a in ly m en w ith fa ir ly recen t f o r w h ic h t h e r e is th e T h ere w e re o n ly in th e e x p e r ie n c e d w o rk e x p e r ie n c e w h o p r o b a b ly m a k e a n im p o r t a n t c o n t r ib u t io n to t h e d e fe n s e e ffo rt . an la b o r c o u ld A bo u t h a l f w e r e m e n p a s t 45 y e a r s o f a g e , a n d a b o u t o n e -t h ir d w e r e 65 y e a r s a n d over. M a jo r needed a d d it io n s to m a n p o w e r s u p p ly c o u ld be a c h ie v e d b y b r in g in g b a c k in t o th e w o r k fo r c e q u a lifie d o ld e r m e n a n d w o m e n w it h p r e v io u s w o rk c o n trib u te to e x p e r ie n c e . th e ir R e tr a in in g m a x im u m and u t iliz a t io n . c a re fu l p la c e m e n t M o reo v er, th e w ill need fo r a d d it io n a l n e w w o r k e r s c a n b e m in im iz e d b y e n c o u r a g in g th e re te n tio n in e m p lo y m e n t o f w o r k e r s w h o T a b le s 23 and reach 24 p re s e n t d e t a ile d re tire m e n t a g e . d ata r ie n c e , f o r a ll a g e g r o u p s , o f p e r s o n s in on th e p r e v io u s w o r k expe th e e x p e r ie n c e d la b o r re s e rv e . 1 For the purposes of this survey, experienced labor reserve included those who had worked for pay or profit at least 90 days, either during World War II or since the end of the war. 00 o T able 2 3 .— M a jo r occupational group o f previous job fo r persons in the experienced labor reserve in M a rch 1951, by age and sex 4.3 4.7 3.6 4.9 1.7 4.5 10.1 4.0 .3 2.3 8.0 27.6 7.1 4.5 3.7 25.5 16.2 .7 2.0 19.2 2.8 3.2 4.3 15.8 3.6 8.7 6.4 64.2 21.0 1.9 4.2 33.8 5.0 .3 8.0 14.8 28.1 10.7 82.5 85.1 6.6 57.9 95.7 89.3 36.9 88.1 99.4 86.5 72.8 28.6 78.6 38.5 42.3 20.7 59.9 38.4 17.0 39.9 19.5 32.9 20.4 12.2 10.7 43.9 42.9 6.6 37.2 35.8 50.9 19.9 48.2 79.9 53.6 52.5 16.3 67.9 24.7 23.8 10.7 25.6 31.0 12.9 26.4 33.9 29.1 24.1 9.2 35.7 15.1 14.8 5.1 19.4 8.8 16.5 6.0 18.3 28.6 18.7 21.0 6.6 17.9 4.1 4.3 1.5 7.1 1.3 3.4 .9 3.5 17.4 5.8 7.4 .5 14.3 Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census, Series P-50, No. 38, Work Experience of the Labor Reserve: March 1951. A G IN G 1 Relates to last job of those who worked since the end of World War II and highest paid war job for those who worked during but not after the war. 2 Excludes those separated from their husbands but not yet divorced. 17.5 14.8 93.4 42.1 4.3 10.7 63.1 11.9 .6 13.5 27.2 71.4 21.4 AND 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 AGED 13,284 974 274 618 3,146 1,104 634 3,406 678 1,678 324 392 56 OF T H E Total........ -____ ______________________________ __________ Professional, technical, and kindred workers___________ _________ Farmers and farm m anagers_____ _________ _______________ i.. Managers, officials, and proprietors, except farm_________________ Clerical and kindred workers___________________________________ Sales workers__________ _____________________________________ Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers.______________________ Operatives and kindred workers__________________ __________ Private household workers_____ ______________________________ Service workers, except private household_______________________ Farm laborers and foremen____________________________________ Laborers, except farm and mine______ ________________________ Occupation not reported_______________________ ______________ S T U D IE S Major occupational group 1 Percent of experienced labor reserve Total, Male 20 years Female of age and over Total, Other Married (thou 20 years with sands) of age 20 to 44 45 to 64 65 and and over Total years years over Total children under 6 2 Total 20 to 44 45 to 64 65 and years years over STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 31 T a b l e 24.— Sum m ary of work experience of persons in the labor reserve in M a rch 1951j hy age and sex With work experience since beginning of World War II Total persons To tal in labor Worked Worked Worked during both after but reserve not (thou but not during sands) Number Percent of after war and after during war war (thou total in (thou labor sands) (thou (thou sands) reserve sands) sands) Age and sex Total, 20 and over........... Male, 20 and over..__________ 20 to 44....... ............................. 45 to 64......................... .......... 65 and over .......................... Female, 20 and over....... ........... Married, with children under 6 years old.............. Other................... ................. 20 to 44............................ 45 to 64_______ _______ 65 and over ................. . 36,394 3,866 1,004 794 2,068 32,528 9,822 22,706 7, 752 10,038 4,916 13,284 2,328 568 600 1,160 10,956 5,120 5,836 3,278 2,012 546 36.5 60.2 56.6 75.6 56.1 33.7 52.1 25.7 42.3 20.0 11.1 4,796 552 56 116 380 4,244 2,056 2,188 1,118 848 222 6,478 1,440 206 464 770 5,038 2,402 2,636 1,446 908 282 With no work experience since beginning of World W arll (thou sands) 2,010 336 306 20 10 1,674 662 1,012 714 256 42 23,110 1,538 436 194 908 21,572 4,702 16,870 4,474 8,026 4,370 100.0 16.7 15.2 1.0 .5 83.3 32.9 50.3 35.5 12.7 2.1 100.0 6.7 1.9 .8 3.9 93.3 20.3 73.0 19.4 34.7 18.9 Percent distribution Total, 20 and over............. Male, 20 and over___________ 20 to 44 ............................ 45 to 64 ................................. 65 and over______________ Female, 20 and over _____ Married, with children under 6 vears old_______ Other___ _ ___________ 20 to 44........................... 45 to 64__ ____ _______ 65 and over................... . 100.0 10.6 2.8 2.2 5.7 89.4 27.0 62.4 21.3 27.6 13.5 100.0 17. 5 4.3 4.5 8.7 82. 5 38.5 43.9 24.7 15.1 4.1 100.0 11.5 1.2 2.4 7.9 88.5 42.9 45.6 23.3 17.7 4.6 100.0 22.2 3.2 7.2 11.9 77.8 37.1 40.7 22.3 14.0 4.4 Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census, Series P-50, No. 38, Work Experience of the Labor Reserve: March 1951. L if e E xpectancy and th e THE IN C R E A S E I N L en g th of L IF E W o r k in g L if e EXPECTANCY T h e a verage len gth o f l i f e in the U n ite d States reached 69.6 years b y 1954, an increase o f o ver 22 years since 1900. T a b le 25 shows th a t the average expected life tim e at b irth is n ow 73.6 years fo r w h ite w om en and m ore than 67 years fo r w h ite men. A v e r a g e l i f e e x pectancy at b irth is n ow 61 years fo r n on w h ite men and alm ost 66 years fo r n on w h ite wom en. T h e increases in l i f e expectancy have been due la r g e ly to the con trol o f in fectiou s diseases, w hich has resulted in p r o lo n g in g lives o f p e r sons w ho fo rm e rly w ou ld have died in in fa n cy , ch ildh ood, o r yo u n g adulthood. Consequently, a verag e l i f e expectan cy has increased most sig n ific a n tly fo r persons u nder 20. A s shown in table 25, there h ave been less a ppreciable increases since 1900 in the a verage years o f l i f e rem a in in g at ages 40, 50, and 60. F o r w h ite men, average l i f e expectan cy at age 40 increased about 4 years betw een 1900 and 1954; fo r w h ite wom en, the com parable increase was 7 ^ years. 32 S T U D IE S OF T H E AGED AND AGING T a b l e 25 .— A vera ge n u m ber o f years o f life rem a in in g at selected ages, by co lo r and sex, 1900, 1940, 1950, and 1954 White Age and year Male At birth: 1900-1902.............................................................. 1939-41.............................................................. 1949-51................................................................ 1954—.................................................................... At age 10: 1900-1902.............................................................. 1939-41.................................................................. 1949-51. ............................................................... 1954....................................................................... At age 20: 1900-1902.............................................................. 1939-41................................................................ 1949-51................................................................ 1954....................................................................... At age 40: 1900-1902............................................................. 1939-41................................................................ 1949-51.............................-.................................. 1954-.................................................................... At age 60: 1900-1902 ............................................................ 1939-41 .............................................................. 1949-51................................................................. 1954.................................................................. At age 70: 1900-1902.............................................................. 1939-41................................................................. 1949-51 ................................................................ 1954....................................................................... 48.2 62.8 66.3 67.4 50.6 57.0 59.0 59.8 42.2 47.8 49.5 50.3 27.7 30.0 31.2 31.8 14.4 15.0 15.8 16.2 9.0 9.4 10.1 10.5 Nonwhite Female 51.1 67.3 72.0 73.6 52.2 60.8 64.3 65.6 43.8 51.4 54.6 55.9 29.2 33.2 35.6 36.7 15.2 17.0 18.6 19.4 9.6 10.5 11.7 12.4 Male Female 32.5 52.3 58.9 61.0 41.9 48.5 53.0 54.8 35.1 39.7 43.7 45.5 23.1 25.2 27.3 28.7 12.6 14.4 14.9 15.7 8.3 10.1 10.7 11.9 35.0 55.5 62. 7 65.8 43.0 50.8 56.2 59.1 36.9 42.1 46.8 49.5 24.4 27.3 29.8 31.9 13.6 16.1 17.0 18.3 9.6 11.8 12.3 14.0 For 1900 data are based upon 11 death-registration States. Source: U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; National Office of Vital Statistics Abridged Life Tables, United States, 1954. N o t e .— T H E G R O W IN G G A P B E T W E E N T O T A L L I F E A N D W O R K I N G - L I F E S P A N T h e im p act o f b roa d p o p u la tio n and la b o r fo rc e trends on the l i f e p a ttern o f the in d iv id u a l w o rk e r is illu stra ted b y estim ates o f w orkli f e expectancy fo r men d evelop ed b y the B u reau o f L a b o r Statistics. Th ese estim ates are d erived fr o m an a p p lica tio n o f the techniques used in construction o f the con ven tion al l i f e table to the m easurem ent o f the len gth o f w o rk in g life . I n 1900, a 55-year-old w h ite m ale had an a verage l i f e expectan cy o f 17.4 years and a w o r k -life expectan cy o f 14.4 years, le a v in g 3 years that he could expect to spend in retirem en t (ta b le 2 6 ). B y 1940, his w o r k - life expectancy had increased alm ost a y e a r— fr o m 17.4 to 18.3— w h ile his w o r k -life expectan cy had declined b y 2 years— fr o m 14.4 to 12.4. T h e sharp increase in the expected p erio d o f retirem en t resulted, in pa rt, fr o m the decrease in the im portan ce o f a gricu ltu re and, in pa rt, fr o m age restrictions in h irin g procedures and fr o m the a v a ila b ility o f social security and oth er pensions. Th ese figures are, o f course, averages and a llo w fo r the fa c t th a t some men d ie b efo re reach in g retirem en t age, w h ile others liv e substantial period s in retirem ent. S T U D IE S OF T H E AGED AND A GING 33 B etw een 1940 and 1950, both l i f e expectan cy and w o r k -life expect ancy increased b y about the same am ount w ith the result th a t the expectation o f years in retirem en t was v ir tu a lly unchanged. T h e increase in the len gth o f w o r k in g l i f e was due in p a rt to the increase in li f e expectan cy and in p a rt to the d ram atic rise in the le v e l o f econom ic a c tiv ity th a t occurred betw een 1940 and 1950. B etw een 1950 and 1955, the expected p erio d o f retirem en t f o r a 55-year-old man increased b y alm ost a fu ll y e a r— fr o m 6.0 to 6.9— as li f e expectan cy increased fr o m 19.0 to 19.5 2 years and w o r k -life expect ancy decreased fr o m 13.0 years to 12.6 years. T h e lo n g -term tren d to w a rd ea rlie r retirem en t w as accelerated d u rin g this p eriod , presum ably b y m a jo r lib era liza tion s in social-security coverage and benefits and in oth er pension plans.3 E stim ates o f the len gth o f w o rk in g l i f e fo r wom en have also been p rep a red b y the B ureau o f L a b o r Statistics. These tables show the exten t to w h ich m a rria g e and the b irth o f ch ildren affect the w ork careers o f wom en. A t the yo u n ger ages, the w o rk careers o f most w om en are in terru p ted as a result o f m a rria g e and the b irth o f children. M a n y wom en reenter the w o rk fo rc e as th e ir ch ildren reach school age and fa m ily responsibilities are som ew hat lessened. A s a result o f the discontinuous nature o f the w o rk careers o f wom en, it is im possible to construct a measure o f a verag e w o r k - life exp ect ancy fo r w om en th a t w ill be m ea n in gfu l d u rin g the ages w hen these changes are ta k in g place. A f t e r a ge 50, there are v ir tu a lly no sh ifts in to and out o f the la b o r fo rc e connected w ith m a rria g e and children. A s a result the w o rk careers o f wom en aged 50 and o ver are g e n era lly continuous, and a m ea n in gfu l measure o f w o rk in g l i f e can be com puted. T h e fo llo w in g figures are fr o m tables o f W o r k in g L i f e f o r W o m en presented and discussed in the June, A u gu st, and O ctober 1956 issues o f the M o n th ly L a b o r R ev iew . I n 1950, a 55-year-old w o rk in g w om an could expect to liv e another 22.3 years o r to age 77, and could expect to w o rk 11.3 years le a v in g about 11 years in retirem ent. T h e 11.3-year w o r k - life expectan cy at age 55 fo r w om en com pares w ith a 17-year w o r k - life expectancy fo r men at this age. T h is shorter w o r k -life expectancy fo r wom en com bined w ith a lo n g e r l i f e expectan cy— 22.3 years as com pared w ith 19 years— results in an expected p erio d o f l i f e in retirem en t fo r w om en that is alm ost tw ice as lo n g as fo r men (ta b le 2 6 ). * L ife expectancy figures used in the construction of the 1955 T able of W orking L ife are based on 1954 data. 3 A fu ll description of the construction and application of the above estimates is found i n : Tables of W orking Life, Length of W orking Life fo r Men, Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin 1001, August 1950. STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING 34 T a b l e 26.— T o ta l life expectancy and w o rk -life expectancy selected ages and base years Average number of years remaining Base year 1 Age and sex Total Men in the labor force: Age 50................................ ............................................ 2 1900 1940 1950 1955 Age 55------ ------------------- -------------------------------- 1900 1940 1950 1955 Age 60__________________________ ____________ 1900 1940 1950 1955 Women in the labor force: Age 50......................................................... ................. 1940 1950 Age 55____________ _______________________ _ 1940 1950 Age 60...........—_______________________________ 1940 1950 20.8 21.8 22.6 3 23.1 17.4 18.3 19.0 3 19.5 14.3 15.1 15.7 3 16.1 24.4 26.4 20.5 22.3 16.9 18.5 In labor force 17.6 16.0 16.6 16.2 14.4 12.4 13.0 12.6 11.5 9.2 9.7 9.2 14.0 13.8 11.3 11.3 8.4 8.9 In retire ment 3.2 5.8 6.0 6.9 3.0 5.9 6.0 6.9 2.8 5.9 6.0 6.9 10.4 12.6 9.2 11.0 8.5 9.6 1 Mortality rates and worker rates as in the specified years. Data available for white males only in death registration States of 1900. 3 Based on 1954 Life Table. N o t e .—The figures for average number of years of life remaining differ slightly from data shown in table 25 because of minor differences in methods of computation. Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin No. 1001; Tables of Working Life, Length of Working Life for Men and articles in the Monthly Labor Review issues for March 1955 and October 1956. 2 I ncom e and S ources of I ncom e I N C O M E OF F A M I L I E S T h e exten t to w hich fa m ily incom es v a rie d in 1955 w ith the age o f the fa m ily head is shown b y data in table 27. T h e lo w est m edian incom e is fo u n d am ong fa m ilie s w here the head w as aged 65 and over. In co m e w as h igh est in fa m ilie s w here the head was betw een 35 and 54 years o f age. T h e relation sh ip betw een fa m ily incom e and age o f head results fr o m several factors. F a m ily incom e tends to reach a peak as the head o f the fa m ily reaches the h igh est le v e l o f ea rn in g p ow er, inas much as he is the p rin c ip a l earner in m ost fa m ilies. I n a d dition , the size o f fa m ily and num ber o f earners p e r fa m ily tend to reach a peak as the head o f the fa m ily approaches m id d le age. A ls o , the p r o p o r tion o f fa m ily heads in the la b or fo rc e declines a fte r age 55. I n 1955 alm ost o n e-fifth o f the fa m ilie s in w hich the head w as 65 years o f age and o v e r received less than $1,000 a y e a r and 44 percent nad fa m ily incom e o f less than $2,000. T h e m edian incom e w as o n ly $2,300, com pared w ith the h igh est m edian o f $5,100 fo r fa m ilie s in w hich the head w as 45 to 54 years o f age. T h e m edian incom e fo r a ll fa m ilie s was $4,400. D a ta are not a va ila b le fo r ages w ith in the grou p 65 years and over, but the m edian is p ro b a b ly h e a v ily w eigh ted b y the grea ter incom es o f fa m ilie s in w h ich the head was 65 to 69 years o f age. In co m e o f fam - S T U D IE S OF THE AGED AND 35 A G IN G ilies in w hich the head is 70 years o f age and o v e r is u ndou btedly con sid era b ly lo w er, inasmuch as la b o r-fo rce p a rticip a tio n drops sh a rp ly in these ages. T h e a vera g e age o f men aw arded old -a ge benefits in 1955 under the S o cia l S ecu rity A c t was 68.4 years. T a b l e 27.— P e rce n t d is trib u tio n o f fa m ilie s by to ta l money incom e and age o f heady 1955 Age of family head Total money income Total Total.............................................. Under $500............................. $500 to $999______________ $1,000 to $1,999___________ $2,000 to $2,999..................... $3,000 to $3,999.._________ $4,000 to $4,999___________ $5,000 to $5,999___________ $6,000 to $6,999___________ $7,000 to $9,999___________ $10,000 and over_____ ____ Median income........................... 100.0 3.4 4.3 9.8 11.0 14.6 15.5 12.7 9.5 12.9 6.2 $4,421 14 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 100.0 5.0 3.3 13.3 20.5 21.5 17.4 9.1 4.6 4.8 .2 $3,319 100.0 2.5 2.4 6.7 10.6 17.2 20.1 16.2 11.1 10.8 2.3 $4,495 100.0 2.0 2.4 5.8 8.5 15.5 17.2 15.7 11.5 15.4 6.0 $4,917 100.0 3.2 3.4 7.1 9.2 11.1 15.0 11.4 10.6 17.3 11.5 $5,088 100.0 3.8 5.5 10.4 11.2 14.3 12.1 11.1 8.3 13.9 9.3 $4,375 65 and over 100.0 7.1 11.8 25.1 15.6 11.2 8.1 6.3 4.0 7.0 3.8 $2,326 N o t e .—Estimates are subject to sampling variation which may be large in cases where the quantities shown are relatively small. Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-60, No. 24 (to be published). IN C O M E OF M EN AND W OM EN D a ta on incom e, in 1955, o f men and wom en b y age are g iv e n in table 28. T h e d itsrib u tio n o f persons b y incom e pertain s o n ly to those w ho received some m oney income. T h e data in d ica te th a t in 1955 about 400,000 o f 6y2 m illio n men in the age grou p 65 years and o ver received no m oney incom e, even thou gh m oney incom e was defined to inclu de such receipts as pensions, govern m en ta l paym ents, pu blic assistance, and even contributions fo r su pport fr o m persons not m embers o f the household. E v e n am ong men 55 to 64 there w ere m ore than 250,000 out o f 7 m illio n w ho received no m oney income. O f about 6 m illio n men aged 65 years and o ver w h o w ere incom e recipients, about tw o-th ird s had incom es o f less than $2,000. T h e incom e o f alm ost 40 percent o f the men in this age grou p was less than $1,000. T h e m edian incom e fo r men in this age grou p w as $1,300, com pared w ith $3,400 f o r men aged 55 to 64, and $4,100 at ages 45 to 54. T h e m edian incom e fo r w om en was much lo w e r than f o r men at each age and there was less sharp v a ria tio n am ong the age groups. I t is tru e th a t m any w om en are n ot e n tirely dependent on th e ir ow n incomes. A n im p orta n t consideration re la tin g to the adequacy o f incom e am ong 7.5 m illio n w om en aged 65 years and o ver is th e m ore than 4 m illio n w id o w s in the grou p. O f a ll the w om en 65 years and over, 2.6 m illio n , o r alm ost one-third, had no m oney incom e o f th e ir own. O f those re ceivin g incom e, the am ount was less than $500 fo r one-third. A b o u t 74 percent had incomes o f less than $1,000. 36 S T U D IE S OF SO U R C E S THE AGED AND A G IN G OF I N C O M E — J U N E 1956 T a b le 29 presents, fo r June 1956, the sem iannual estim ate p rep a red b y the S o cia l S ecu rity A d m in is tra tio n o f the num ber o f persons a ged 65 and o v e r in the p opu lation w ith incom e fr o m em ploym en t, social insurance and rela ted program s, and pu blic assistance. A c c o r d in g to these estim ates, o f a to ta l 14.4 m illio n persons in the p op u la tion aged 65 and over, about 45 percent, o r 6.6 m illio n , received o ld -a ge and su rvivors insurance. Less than o n e-fifth , or 2.5 m illio n , w ere on the pu blic assistance rolls. A m o n g a ll persons 65 years and over, 4.2 m illio n , o r 30 percent, had incom e fr o m em ploym en t. T able 28.— D is trib u tio n o f persons 14 years o f age and over by to ta l money incom e , age and sex> 1955 Age Total money income and sex MALE Total (thousands)__________ ______ Total with income (thousands).. Percent with income ................... Under $500»______________ $500 to $999_______ ____ _ $1,000 to $1,999____________ $2,000 to $2,999.___ ________ $3,000 to $3,999......................... $4,000 to $4,999......................... $5,000 to $5,999___ _________ $6,000 to $6,999____ _____ $7,000 to $9,999__________ $10,000 and over...... ................ Median income____ __________ ___ Total 14 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 55,878 6,480 4,188 11,333 11,082 9,300 7,006 51,446 3,360 3,942 11,215 10,946 9,151 6, 749 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 9.4 60.2 7.3 3.2 5.1 2.8 6.7 8.8 20.2 11.2 4.5 3.5 8.4 4.8 8.4 12.8 13.0 27.0 6.8 8.7 13.2 13.2 5.0 20.7 14.8 11.5 12.2 13.6 16.5 1.1 17.1 21.8 19.9 16.2 18.5 .4 11.3 21.8 20.5 18.3 15.6 15.8 10.3 .2 3.8 13.2 15.3 13.1 9.2 5.4 .8 8.2 7.9 5.1 6.3 5.1 8.1 .7 4.8 7.9 5.1 2.9 1.2 3.8 5.7 4.6 $3,354 ~ $416 $2, 223 $3,886 $4,255 $4,138 $3,440 65 and over 6,489 6,083 100.0 13.8 24.4 27.6 13.8 7.6 4.4 3.3 1.2 2.0 1.9 $1,337 FEM ALE Total (thousands)_________________ Total with income (thousands).. Percent with income__________ Under $500 ».._____________ $500 to $999............................... $1,000 to $1,999_______ _____ $2,000 to $2,999— . ................... $3,000 to $3,999___ ________ $4,000 to $4,999................ ......... $5,000 to $5,999....... .......... $6,000 to $6,999...................... $7,000 to $9,999____________ $10,000 and over___________ Median income___ _____ __________ 60,415 29,791 100.0 28.0 19.3 20.6 15.8 10.7 3.4 1.2 .4 .4 .3 $1,116 6,762 2,559 100.0 62.3 18.1 13.7 5.2 .6 .2 5,307 12,120 11,635 3, 216 5,263 5,462 100.0 100.0 100.0 21.8 23.3 23.2 16.5 13.7 14.3 24.8 21.3 20.6 21.8 20.9 19.1 12.9 15.7 14.7 1.8 5.4 3.6 .3 1.3 1.0 .1 .7 .3 .4 .3 9,626 7,441 4,864. 3,537 ioo. <r 100.0 19.8 25.0 14.2 17.7 22.5 23.6 19.6 15.7 13.5 10.4 5.5 4.0 1.6 2.7 1.1 .6 .7 .8 .4 .7 $402 $1,453 $1,601 $1,582 $1, 725 $1,257 7,524 4,890 100.0 34.1 39.7 16.9 4.7 1.8 1.0 .5 .3 .4 $700 .4 1 Excludes persons with no income and includes tho.se reporting a net loss. N o t e .—Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: U. S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series P-60, No. 23. T h e tren d has been to w a rd a con tin u in g decline in the re la tiv e num ber o f o ld e r persons w ith incom e fr o m em ploym ent. I n 1944, when re la tiv e ly m ore aged persons w ere in the labor fo rc e than at any oth er tim e in recent decades, a p p ro x im a te ly 40 percen t o f the p o p u la tion aged 65 and o v e r w ere in receip t o f earnings. 37 STUDIES OF THE AGED AND AGING T able 29.— E stim a ted n um ber o f persons aged 65 and ove r re ceivin g incom e fro m specified source , June 1956 1 [In millions] Source of income Total in population 2.............. ................................................ Employment_____________________ ______________________ Earners........................ . . . Wives of earners.... ............ . ..................................................... Social insurance and related programs:3 Old-age and survivors insurance.............................................. Railroad retirement..... ............ .............................................. _ Federal employee retirement programs.. ________ _ Veterans’ compensation and pension program__________ Beneficiaries’ wives not in direct receipt of benefit _____ Public assistance 4_.......................................................................... Total 14.4 4.2 3.3 1.0 6.6 .5 .5 .7 .2 2.5 Women Men 6.7 2.6 2.6 3.4 .3 .3 .4 1.0 7.8 1.7 .7 1.0 3.2 .2 .2 .3 .2 1.5 1 Continental United States only. 2 Includes persons with no income and with income from sources other than those specified. Some per sons received income from more than 1 of the sources listed. 3 Persons with incomes from more than 1 of programs listed are counted only once. 4 Old-age assistance recipients and persons aged 65 and over receiving aid to the blind. Source: Social Security Administration. N o t e .—Earners aged 65 and over estimated by the Bureau of the Census. Population aged 65 and over, number of wives of earners, and number of wives of male beneficiaries, of programs other than old-age and survivors insurance estimated from Bureau of the Census data. Number of persons in receipt of pay ments under social insurance and related programs and from public assistance, reported by administrative agencies, partly estimated. R e t ir e m e n t a n d P e n s io n P rograms B ased o n E m p l o y m e n t OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM T h e p rogra m , established under the S ocia l S ecu rity A c t o f 1935, p rovid es con tin u in g incom e fo r w orkers and th e ir fa m ilie s as p a rtia l replacem ent o f earnings lost th rou gh o ld -a ge retirem en t o r death o f the earner. B e g in n in g J u ly 1957, benefits w ill also be payable to severely disabled insured persons between the ages o f 50 and 65. M o re than nine-tenths o f the N a tio n ’s p a id jobs are under the con trib u to ry coverage o f the progra m . R ecen t extensions o f coverage h ave b rou gh t in to the system members o f the A rm e d Forces and a ll self-em p lo yed p rofession a l persons except doctors o f m edicine. T h e m a jo r grou ps excluded a re : M o st F e d e ra l c iv ilia n em ployees under retirem en t system s; in general, policem en and firem en covered b y a S ta te or local retirem en t sy stem ; low -incom e self-em p lo yed person s; and fa rm and dom estic w orkers n ot re g u la rly em ployed. A s o f J a n u ary 1, 1956, m ore than 71 m illio n persons w ere insured fo r retirem en t benefits, su rv ivo r benefits, or both. M o n th ly benefits p a yable to men aged 65 and over, and to w om en aged 62 and over, are the old -a ge insurance benefit, p a yable to the re tired w o r k e r ; the w i f e ’s or dependent husband’s benefit, p a ya b le to the spouse o f an old -a ge b en eficiary; and the w id o w ’s, dependent w id o w e r’s, and dependent p a ren t’s benefit pa ya b le to the su rvivors o f deceased insured w orkers. T h e re tired w o rk e r’s u nm arried ch ildren under age 18 and th e ir m other, regardless o f h er age, m a y also q u a lify fo r benefits. A n im p orta n t p a rt o f the p ro g ra m is the su rvivorsh ip p rotection fo r yo u n g fa m ilies. I n the event o f an insured w o rk e r’s death at any age, his u nm arried ch ildren under age 18 and th e ir m other are e lig ib le fo r m o n th ly su rvivors’ benefits. A m o n th ly benefit 38 ST U D IE S OF T H E AGED AND AG IN G i also payable to a disabled adult child of a deceased or retired worker s if the child i permanently and totally disabled and has been so dis s abled since before he reached age 1 . 8 Monthly benefits payable on the record of an insured worker vary according to past covered earnings and the number and relationship of dependents entitled to benefits. A retired woman worker or wife who chooses to draw her benefit between ages 62 and 65 receives a re duced benefit; the reduction does not apply to women drawing widows’ or dependent parents’ benefits between 62 and 65. Payments range from $30 to $108.50 a month for the worker alone, from $45 to $162.80 for an aged couple, and from $30 to $81.40 for a survivor beneficiary.. The maximum benefit payable to a family on any one record i $200 a s month. In addition to any monthly payments, a lump sum (up to $255) i payable at the insured worker’ death to his widow or widower s s or to the persons who paid the burial expenses. Entitlement to retirement or survivorship benefits depends on the insured status of the worker, the age and relationship of the worker and his dependents, and application for such benefits. For benefici aries aged 72 and over, monthly benefits are payable without regard to the amount of current earnings. Beneficiaries under age 72 may earn up to $1,200 a year without loss of any monthly benefits;1 month’ s benefit i withheld for each $80 (or for each fraction of that amount) s in excess of $1,200, but the benefit would not be suspended for any month in which the individual actually did not either earn wages of more than $80 or render substantial services as a self-employed person. Current benefits payable . Of the 8.3 million persons in the United — States receiving old-age and survivors insurance benefits at the end of June 1956, 6.6 million were persons aged 65 and over, representing about three-fifths of the retired aged population. About 4.7 million were retired workers, 1.2 million were the aged wives or dependent husbands of retired workers, and 700,000 were aged survivors of de ceased insured workers— widows, dependent widowers, and dependent parents. For retired workers with no entitled dependents, the average benefit was $60 monthly; the payments to retired aged couples aver aged $104.80, and the average payment to aged widows was $49. Reflecting the more liberal computation provisions of the 1950 and 1954 amendments, under which benefits may be based on average earn ings since 1950 with some years of low earnings dropped out, the ben e i awards for persons now coming on the rolls for the f r t time are ft is considerably higher than those given above for al beneficiaries. For l persons on the rolls in June 1956 whose benefits were based on earnings since 1950, the average for a retired worker without dependents was $72.60 a month;for an aged couple, $122.80; and for an aged widow, $62.70. RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFIT PROGRAM The purpose of the program, which operates under the Railroad Retirement Act, i to provide continuing income for railroad employees s and their families as partial replacement of earnings lost through the retirement or death of the employee. During 1954, an average of 1,249,000 employees worked in employment covered by this act. Benefits are payable to aged and permanently disabled employees and their wives, and to widows, widowers, children, and parents of deceased employees. All benefits are subject to the requirement that the employee whose earnings gave rise to the benefit must have com- S T U D IE S OF T H E AGED AND A GING 39 pleted at least 10 years of service. A n old-age annuity i payable at s age 65, or at age 60 if the employee has had 30 years of railroad service. A n occupational disability annuity i payable at age 60, or before age s 60 if the employee has 20 years of railroad service. In either case, the employee must be permanently disabled for work in his regular railroad occupation and have a current connection with the railroad industry. A total disability annunity i payable at any age, if the s employee i permanently disabled for all regular work. s A monthly annuity i also payable to the wife or dependent husband s of a retired employee who i 65 years of age. The wife must also be s 65 or have in her care an employee’ child who i unmarried, under 18, s s and dependent on the employee. The husband of a woman employee must be 65 and must be dependent upon the employee for at least half of his support. A spouse’ annuity i equal to half the employee’ s s s annuity up to a maximum of $54.30. These annuities are computed on the basis of the employee’ years s of service and average compensation. Earnings in excess of $350 per month are not credited. At the present time, the maximum annuity payable i $184. s A monthly benefit i also payable to a former pensioner of a railroad s carrier if he i not eligible for a retirement annuity and was on the s pension rolls of his employer on March 1 and July 1,1937. A monthly retirement benefit i also payable to all former railroad s employees who were on the private pension rolls of his employer on March 1 and July 1,1937. Special provisions govern the monthly retirement and survivor benefits payable when an employee has credited employment under both the Railroad Retirement and the Social Security Act. Entitlement to monthly and lump-sum survivor benefits depends on the insured status of the employee and on the age and relationship of the survivor. Survivor benefits are based on the employee’ combined s railroad and social-security earnings after 1936. The maximum fam ily benefit payable to a single family i $176. s CURRENT BENEFIT PAYM ENTS At the end of December 1954, 296,600 retired employees were receiv ing benefits. Of these, 214,000 were age annuitants and 82,600 were disability annuitants. The average annuity being paid on December 31,1954, was $100.36. Of the 251,700 employee annuitants aged 65 and over on the rolls at the end of 1954,101,900 had a wife or dependent husband receiving an auxiliary railroad annuity. Of these families, the average family benefit was almost $146. The average widow’ benefit at the end of s 1954 was $48.43, the average child’ was $38.71. s P u b l ic R e t ir e m e n t and P e n s io n S ystem s FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM Since 1920, employees in the classified civil service and certain other groups of civilian employees have been covered by the f r t Federal is contributory retirement system. This system, administered by the Civil Service Commission, was broadened in 1942 to include most Federal employees not subject to another retirement system. In 1946, the provisions of the Civil Service Retirement Act were extended to heads of executive departments and, on an optional basis, to Members 40 S T U D IE S OF T H E AGED AND A G IN G of the Congress. The coverage of this basic system was further broad ened in 1947 to absorb employees previously covered under other sep arate systems. Through a 1950 amendment to the Social Security Act, many of the remaining Federal employees not serving under perma nent appointments, and therefore not under civil-service retirement, were brought under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance system. The retirement legislation was liberalized in 1956 to provide for larger annuities for retired employees, higher annuities for sur vivors of deceased employees, and a lower reduction rate for persons retiring before age 60. In October 1956, there were about 2.4 million Federal civilian e m ployees. About 2 million of these are covered by the civil-service retirement system. As a result of the new law the average monthly annuity has been estimated by the Civil Service Commission at about $170 as compared with $135 under the old law. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS Extension of the merit system in public employment and the 1920 enactment of a retirement program covering most Federal employees spurred the development of retirement planning for employees of State and local governments. B y 1950, every State had legislation providing statewide retirement systems for teachers, most had sys tems for general State employees, and a majority provided statewide systems for general employees of local governments. A m o n g some 1,200 cities of more than 10,000 population, about two-thirds had re tirement or pension plans covering a l types of employees, and nearly l 90 percent had plans which covered certain classes of employees. Roughly two-thirds of all State and local government employees were covered by these retirement systems. Amendments to the Social Security Act in 1950 made i possible for t groups of State and local employees not covered by their own systems to be brought under the Federal system of old-age and survivors in surance. Through amendments in 1954, the provision for voluntary coverage was further extended to members of State and local retire ment systems (other than policemen and firemen). B y the beginning of July 1956, more than 1.8 million (approximately 37 percent of an State and local employees) had been covered by the Federal system through voluntary agreements;of these, something over half were also members of State or local systems. All but about one-tenth of State and local employment had retirement protection through special sys tems, the Federal system, or a combination of the two. In June 1956, the State and local systems were paying age or dis ability annuities to almost 400,000 retired government employees and monthly benefits to the survivors of approximately 50,000 deceased members. S T U D IE S E x te n t to W h ic h W OF T H E orkers E E AGED l ig ib l e AND for 41 A GING P e n s io n s C o n t in u e in m p lo y m e n t The increase in the older population, and the growing gap— for individual workers— between their total life and work-life expectancy are basic factors underlying the establishment and expansion of social security and private pension programs. OASDI EXPERIENCE That the availability of increased pension benefits has increased the proportion of men retiring at age 65 (when they become eligible under the social security system) or soon after i clearly shown in the s following tabulation, which also shows that a substantial number s i l tl continue to work past that age (table 30). T able 3 0 .— M en in cu rre n t paym ent status ( percent o f those eligible f o r benefits at beginning o f y e a r), by age Selected years 1941_______________________________________ 1945________ _____________________ ______ _ 1949_______________________ _______ ________ 1950_____________________________________ _ 1952____________________________ _____ _____ 1954____________________ _____ ______ _______ 1955_________________ ___________ _________ 1956______________________________________ 65 years and over 20 29 52 59 64 66 71 76 65 to 69 70 to 74 22 22 37 44 49 50 55 59 75 years and over 14 35 63 69 69 72 77 86 19 49 74 81 94 95 96 97 Source: U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Social Security Bulletin, Annual Statistical Supplement, 1955, table 19, p. 18. B y the beginning of 1956, i i seen, the proportion of those eligible t s aged 65-69 who were actually drawing benefits had increased to 59 percent. But the proportion not drawing benefits was s i l 14 percent tl among those aged 70-74 and 3 percent of those aged 75 and over. In spite of this, the average age of men awarded benefits has ranged narrowly between 69.5 and 68.0 years during the entire period and was 68.4 at the beginning of 1956. EXPERIENCE UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT About 100,000 railroad employees ages 65 and over performed some railroad service in 1953, and they represented 5 percent of the total number of employees of all ages in service. A total of about 252,000 former railroad employees aged 65 and over were on the annuitant rolls at the end of 1954. The average age of railroad workers awarded full-age annuities during 1954 was 68.1 years, or almost 3 years above the age at which workers become eligible for such annuities. The average monthly annuity being paid at the end of 1954 was $100.36, considerable more than the average monthly benefit paid under the old-age, survivors and disability insurance program.4 4 Railroad Retirement Board Annual Report, 1955. U. S. GOVERNM ENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1957 O— 423782
