Chongyang Data Point: PPIC Finds Wages Keep Some 800,000 Older Californians Out of Poverty, and Older Workers Accounted for Over Two-Thirds of Recent Net Labor Force Gains
SACRAMENTO — The Double Ninth Festival is also Seniors' Day. The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released a report, Older Workers in California, on October 12, examining the work and economic circumstances of older Californians. The report was authored by Hans Johnson, Eric McGhee, Daniel Payares-Montoya and Sarah Bohn.
The report finds that older workers have become an important source of labor force growth in California: between 2019 and 2024, workers age 65 and above accounted for more than two-thirds of net labor force gains statewide, and they accounted for 30 percent of the state's labor force growth between 2006 and 2024. Work is an essential income source for a substantial share of older Californians: earnings from work currently keep roughly 800,000 older Californians, or about 13 percent, out of poverty, mostly in the 65-to-69 age group; for that age group, earnings keep roughly a third out of poverty or near-poverty. Social Security benefits also play an outsized role in older adults' budgets, especially for those 70 and older, who are less likely to work.
The composition of the older workforce is also changing. White adults made up about two-thirds of older workers in 2006 but will be a minority by 2040; the fastest growth will occur among Latino and Asian workers, many of whom immigrated to California in the 1980s. Participation is also rising among older adults with lower educational attainment: among Californians age 65 to 69 without a high school diploma, labor force participation rose from 18 percent in 2006 to 25 percent in 2024 and is projected to reach 33 percent by 2040. Participation among 65- to 74-year-olds is projected to keep rising modestly through 2040, partly offset by rapid population growth among those 75 and older. The report notes that California's Master Plan for Aging outlines goals including lifelong opportunities for work and protection from discrimination.
Source: Compiled from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report and policy brief, October 12.
Source: 加州公共政策研究院
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：PPIC 报告图表：2024年比2006年多75.4万名65岁以上加州人在工作。图片来源：加州公共政策研究院（PPIC）《加州的老年劳工》报告。Photo: Chart from the PPIC report: 754,000 more Californians age 65+ were working in 2024 than in 2006. Image: Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), Older Workers in California.
