Reasons for working at 60 and beyond, September 2017 to August 2018

Released: 2018-12-14

The article, "Reasons for working at 60 and beyond," released today in Labour Statistics at a Glance, examines the reasons why people continue to work at age 60 and older. The analysis is based on the one-time addition of questions on this topic to the Labour Force Survey in September 2018.

Overall, close to one-third (31%) of those aged 60 and older worked or wanted to work at some point during the year prior to September 2018, and half (49%) of these did so out of necessity. This was similar for both men and women.

The proportion of those working or wanting to work out of necessity, however, decreased with age. While the majority (59%) of people in their early 60s who worked or wanted to work did so out of necessity, this figure was reduced to about one-quarter (28%) for those aged 70 and older.

Level of education also influenced whether older Canadians chose to work or worked out of necessity. For those who were highly-educated, they were more likely to work by choice at age 60 and older than their counterparts with a lower level of education. Over half (55%) of older Canadians with a high school diploma or less who worked as their main activity did so out of necessity, compared with 44% among older persons with a bachelor's degree or higher.

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The article "Reasons for working at 60 and beyond" is now available online in the Labour Statistics at a Glance series (Catalogue number71-222-X).

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free: 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; statcan.infostats-infostats.statcan@canada.ca.

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Myriam Hazel (613-219-4345; myriam.hazel@canada.ca) or Client Services (toll-free: 1-866-873-8788; statcan.labour-travail.statcan@canada.ca), Labour Statistics Division.