Number of Workers Over 75 Increasing

"An increasing number of Americans are staying employed past age 75, earning income that's a perk for some, a necessity for others," according to a story by LA Times Staff Writer Catherine Saillant. She says that Labor Department statistics show that the number of employed workers 75 and older grew from 669,000 in 1994 to just under 1 million last year. According to Bonnie Parks, who runs the Senior Worker Advocate Office of California's Employment Development Department, companies are more open to hiring older people because of labor shortages, but once workers reach about 75, employers worry that those in their 80s and 90s might not have the strength or mental capacity to get the job done.

Source: "A New Wrinkle in Workforce" Los Angeles Times (February 24, 2005)