Aging Trends

Aging labor force: According to Monthly Labor Review, 2000, the average age of the US population is increasing. In 1990, 40 percent of the US population was younger than 35 years old; by 2010, only a third will be younger than 35. In 2010, the majority of the US population will be 45 years and older, a change that represents a major turning point for the US population demographic. This increase will change the profile of the US labor force. With more people being 45 years and older, combined with a growing tendency toward delayed retirement, the labor force will shift toward older workers. By 2020, one in five workers will be 55 years and older. This represents a more than 50 percent increase over 2000, in which 13 percent of the labor force was made up of the 55-plus age group. The aging labor force is likely to mean greater pressure from businesses to keep aging employees as productive as possible throughout their careers.

Anti-aging products big business: A September 2003 study by market researchers Freedonia Group, Inc., predicts that demand for products to help fight aging will rise more than 11 percent per year to $29 billion in 2007. This growth is being driven by new or improved products claiming to maintain health or enhance appearance, targeted at midlife and older

Dramatic growth in the age 60 and older population, between 1900 and 2020, is provided in the following graph from the Administration on Aging.