Study: Seniors at work: An update

More seniors were working in 2001 than five years earlier. They are better educated and now work in a wider variety of occupations, according to a new study that analyses data from the 2001 Census.

The study, which updates a May 2002 study on working seniors, found that an estimated 305,000 people aged 65 and over were employed in 2001, up from about 255,000 in 1996. This was a 19.6% increase, nearly twice the 11% growth in the total senior population during the same period.

In 2001, 8.4% of seniors were working, up from 7.8% five years earlier.

The study also showed that overall, working seniors are getting older. Those aged between 65 and 69 still formed the majority (57%) in 2001, but this was down from 60% in 1996. In contrast, about 18% were 75 and older in 2001, up from 16%.

With increasing life expectancy and continuing medical advances, many Canadian seniors live two or more decades after retirement, and more of these years are spent in good health. This appears to be reflected in the rising proportion of working seniors.

Working seniors are generally better educated. In 1996, just under 16% of employed seniors had a university degree; five years later, this proportion had risen to over 17%.

In contrast, more than 22% of working seniors had less than a Grade 9 education in 1996. By 2001, this had declined to under 19%.

In addition, working seniors were almost four times more likely than people aged 15 to 64 to be self-employed. Six out of every 10 self-employed seniors were working owners of an unincorporated business without paid help.

As the number and proportion of employed seniors rises, the variety of jobs they perform keeps expanding. In 1996, half of workers aged 65 and over were concentrated in 20 occupations. By 2001, the same proportion was spread across 25.

Farming and farm management was the number one occupation of both senior men and women in 2001. The second and third most common occupations were in retail trade as salespersons and salesclerks, and managers.

Seniors in professional occupations were most likely to be financial auditors and accountants, general practitioners and family physicians, ministers of religion, or lawyers and Quebec notaries.

The division of labour among seniors remains traditional. Some occupations, such as judges and ministers of religion, tend to be filled mainly by men; others, such as secretaries and babysitters, are taken mainly by women.

Nevertheless, from 1996 to 2001, the proportion of older workers who were women rose in a wide range of occupations, reflecting the higher participation rates of younger cohorts. Overall, women's share of the workforce aged 65 and over increased from 31.5% in 1996 to 32.1% in 2001. This share is expected to continue rising as younger working women enter their senior years.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3901.

The article "More seniors at work" is available in the February 2004 online edition of Perspectives on Labour and Income, Vol. 5, no. 2 (75-001-XIE, $6/$52).

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Doreen Duchesne (613-951-6379; doreen.duchesne@statcan.gc.ca), Labour and Household Surveys Analysis Division.