Job Demands and Work Ability at Older Ages

Workers' ability to delay retirement depends partly on the demands of their jobs. Matching occupational characteristics from the Occupational Information Network to Current Population Survey respondents, this study finds that 7% of American workers held highly physically demanding jobs in 2006 and 35% held highly cognitively demanding jobs. The share of the workforce in physically demanding jobs fell by about one-sixth between 1971 and 2006, while the share in cognitively demanding jobs increased by more than one-third. The decline in physically demanding occupations will likely improve employment prospects for older adults, but the growth in cognitive demands may limit options for some older workers.