A growing number of older women is now working full time. A survey of 22,000 middle-aged Americans, published by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, found the proportion of women 50 and older working full time increased to 49 percent in 2000, up from 43 percent in 1992.
Some researchers believe the findings support the argument that a trend toward early retirement among Americans in their 50s may be over, but University of Michigan economist Robert J. Willis told the Boston Globe the results may merely reflect the labor shortages during the latter half of the 1990s.
The researchers said there was also a marked decrease in the number of participants who said their job required physical effort. In 1992, for example, 56 percent said their jobs were physically taxing. In 2000, only 38 percent responded that way.
“Job demands are a factor in early retirement,” said David Weir, associate director of the study. “These kinds of changes in job characteristics bode well for keeping older Americans working longer. The physical demands of their jobs may not push people out as much as in the recent past.”
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