According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2024, nearly 1 in 4 people in the labor force are projected to be age 55 or over and their projected share will be the largest (24.8%)  among all other age groups. A Department of Labor November 2016 blog post, Why More People Ages 55+ are Working, authored by Teri Morisi, branch chief at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, gives two reasons for this trend. The first is an aging population: baby boomers—those born from 1946 to 1964.  The youngest will be 59 years old by 2024.  The second reason is an increasing labor force participation rate among older workers.

Morisi gives four reasons to the big question: Why are older workers choosing to remain in the labor force?

• Longer and more healthful lives   

• Changes to retirement plans    

• Increase in Social Security retirement age

• To keep employer-based health coverage​  

This demographic wave in the workforce of an increased  participation for older workers has implications for retirement policy, the behavior of employers and employees, Social Security, and health care policy.

The Department of Labor has addressed some aspects of employment  of older workers. For example, in an effort to help long-term unemployed older workers,  the department's Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships has been reaching out to groups like Neighbors-Helping-Neighors for the past several years, connecting them to the public workforce system and other partners, and helping new clubs get started. You can learn more from the department's blog post, Connecting Older Workers, Long-Term Unemployed With Jobs, by Ben Seigel, deputy director of the Labor Department's Center for Faith-based and Neighorhood Partnerships.

When older workers lose their jobs, they may remain out of work longer and experience larger declines in wages than younger workers do. This situation can be even more difficult for older female workers since they are more likely to have lower lifetime earnings and tend to live longer than older men. In the Labor Department 's Women's Bureau blog post, Bridging the Gap: Older Americans in the Workforce,  Latifa Lyles states," The Women's Bureau is commited to bridging the  gaps that exist in education and analysis on this issue…" and  she confirmed that "Many experienced older workers are ready , willing, and most importantly, able to fill the demands of the labor force. It is up to us to encourage them to continue in the workplace by providing them with the desired work environment, hours of work, and benefits that they need to succeed."

 The Department of Labor has also addressed the issue of employment of older workers in terms of inclusion in a disability context and how the Department thinks about disability issues. Kathy Martinez, assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy 2013,  in her post, Redefining the Inclusive Workplace:  the Graying Effect, states that "Today, an inclusive workplace means accommodating all employees when certain needs arise—not just those of us who were born with, or have obvious, evident disabilities, but also those who age into disability but want to continue to contribute. Doing so is good for people, and it's good for business."  A critical paradigm shift is underway in the American workplace, as the issue of disability employment is currently being redefined.