![](https://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/older_workers_6-scaled-640x419.jpg.webp)
Recessions and Older Workers
The brief’s key findings are:
- Despite the current recession, the employment rate of older men has not fallen.
- This surprising fact is the net result of two long-term developments.
- On the one hand, the labor force participation of older workers has risen steadily due to changes in Social Security, job demands, and health care access.
- And 401(k)s have exposed workers to stock market collapses.
- On the other hand, declining job tenure has eroded older workers’ protection against layoffs, increasing the risk of unemployment.