The Aging Future of Work

The tightening U.S. labor market is creating new opportunities for workers older than 50, with signs that ageism may be on the decline, according to Axios . The older population will become increasingly vital to global economic growth as both workers and consumers, and AARP estimates that 50-plus-year-olds in the United States constitute $8 trillion of consumer demand. "There's a lot of discrimination to overcome, but with a tight labor market and fewer younger workers, it's beginning to change," says London Business School economist Andrew Scott. For example, Quartz reports that U.S. employment has risen by 22 million since 1998, with workers over 55 accounting for 90 percent of that gain. On the other hand, Scott admits that many workers at the lower end of the skill spectrum continue working because they cannot afford to retire. "We've ignored how aging is changing," he says. "People are aging better than in the past, on average, and that's a fantastic opportunity." Still, Rutgers University Professor Carl Van Horn notes that "a lot of American businesses have not adjusted themselves to how to take advantage of this as opposed to looking at it as a negative."