AMAC: Seniors are fast-growing members of the American workforce

The senior-citizen segment of the U.S. workforce has been “expanding rapidly for some time.”  

That’s according to the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), citing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). To be more specific, BLS data shows that the 55-plus segment of the U.S. labor force stood at 11.6 percent in 1993, and by 2024, that number will grow to nearly 25 percent. 

“What’s more striking is that the Bureau expects that men and women 65 to 75 years of age and older are leading the pack of seniors who want to keep working. In fact, the Census Bureau reported not long ago that as many as five percent of Americans in the 85 and up age range have jobs,” said Rebecca Weber, CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens, a national senior-advocacy organization headquartered in Florida.

AMAC also says the country’s 90-plus population has tripled over the past 30 years and will grow to more than 7.6 million nonagenarians by the year 2050. 

One such member of the U.S. workforce is actor William Shatner who recently turned 90. He’s still working and doesn’t seem likely to retire anytime soon. Shatner has a new movie coming out soon. 

It’s called “Senior Moment” and features a retired NASA test pilot. The Chicago Sun-Times called it “geriatric rom-com.” 

Shatner is not ready “to go gently into the night,” AMAC said. As he told Entertainment Tonight in a recent interview, “I’d like to be around when the science fiction of today becomes science fact.” 

AMAC CEO Weber explains that Shatner is not very different from any of the “new breed of busy old timers.”

“Consider his schedule. He recently cut two albums, he launched a new podcast, shot a new show, “The Unexplained,” for the History Channel and is out there plugging his new movie, despite the limitations imposed during the pandemic,” she noted. 

But Weber says that the Star Trek actor is not the “only old timer who is keeping his chin up while riding out the COVID pandemic; senior citizens in general are showing the world what resilience is all about,” AMAC contends.