Even retired people have to pull together to find work
In the US, economists say there are growing signs that high inflation is prompting more people – including retirees, to return to the labor market.
Overall, this trend could be good news for the economy, as an expanding workforce will boost growth prospects and help ease staffing shortages that will drive wages up and add pressure. price. However, for many people, including those who live off pensions or with limited savings, rising prices are one thing that discourages them and forces them back into the job market.
“We are starting to see a shift in the population of older people who want to live on a fixed income in an environment of interest rates and inflation,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US LLP. low. This didn’t materialize. So they had to go back to work to pay for their retirement.”
“Really what you’re dealing with is an inflationary shock, which in turn leads to changes in behavior,” he added.
Percentage of workers aged 55 and over in the US.
According to the US Department of Labor, the percentage of people over 55 who are working or looking for work has increased from 38.4% in October to 38.9% in March. Over the past six months, more than 480,000 of this age group have participated. labor force, based on a 3-month moving average. Accordingly, the number of people entering the workforce in 6 months is 180,000 higher than before the pandemic occurred.
The US job market has undergone a transformation for workers of all ages in the past six months, as the three-month market-wide moving average rose to 2.5 million. Accordingly, the percentage of people participating in the labor force across the US was from 61.7% in October to 62.4% in March.
Several factors are driving more and more people of all ages out of their homes and in search of work, analysts say: high vaccination rates, schools and daycare centers reopening, more telecommuting opportunities and greater flexibility, government support during the pandemic is over and wages are rising.
However, they also say that another important factor behind the recent workforce shift is inflation, which rose to nearly 8% in February from more than 5% in winter. last summer. Inflation data for March will be released by the US Department of Labor on the evening of April 12.
According to estimates from senior economist Miguel Faria-e-Castro of the St. Louis, the US had about 2.6 million retirees earlier than expected between February 2020 and October 2021. Right now, more people are returning to work in numbers not seen since March 2020, according to job site Indeed.
Some of them say the sharp rise in prices is a strong motivator for older people to postpone retirement or decide not to retire at all.
Former lawyer Lisa Purcell (57 years old) has been retired for health reasons for more than 2 decades. Although she is concerned about being infected with Covid-19, she said she is still considering looking for a job because of rising inflation. She shared that both she and her husband (53 years old) are retired energy engineers with limited financial capacity until she could qualify for Social Security benefits.
Refer to WSJ
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