Older Americans Want Jobs, Poll Finds

More than 1.9 million older Americans wish they were back in the work force, and they are not just interested in “cushy” jobs where they can pick their hours and name their pay, a private group reported today.

The Commonwealth Fund, a philanthropic foundation, said a national survey of Americans ages 50 to 64 found there is an available labor pool of older people that is far larger, more qualified, more flexible and more committed than previously believed.

“This untapped older labor force could be one very important answer to the future labor shortage,” said Thomas W. Moloney, senior vice president of the foundation. “What we see here are capable, educated, experienced people who want to get back in.”

Moloney said the report should help dispel the conventional wisdom among employers that most older Americans want only “cushy jobs” and that there are few qualified workers in the group who have realistic job expectations.

The findings are based on a 1989 national survey by Louis Harris and Associates Inc. of 1,751 men aged 55-64 and 1,758 women aged 50-59. The different age groups for men and women were selected to catch them at the times when people traditionally drop out of the work force.

The results were analyzed for the Commonwealth Fund by ICF Inc., a Washington consulting firm, which concluded that 1.9 million older Americans, about 24% of non-workers in the surveyed age groups, say they are able and willing to go back to work.

ICF identified 1.1 million of these people as highly committed to rejoining the labor force. These people said they need a job for financial reasons, are physically able to do key tasks such as driving or using a calculator, are seeking work and have reasonable wage expectations, are willing to work under difficult conditions, and are willing to take jobs that are in demand.

These retirees had education, job skills and experience largely comparable to those of their counterparts still in the work force, the poll found.