Increasing numbers of older Americans are putting off retirement, creating career-ladder gridlock for younger workers, Axios' Ivana Saric reports.
Why it matters: As older workers stay in their jobs longer, their Gen Z and Millennial colleagues are often locked into lower-paying, junior-level roles.
State of play: The share of U.S. adults aged 65+ in the labor market has steadily increased since the late 1980s.
A retirement confidence survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found 33% of workers planned to retire at 70 or older — or never. That's up from EBRI's 2021 survey, in which 26% of workers said the same thing.
People are living longerand staying healthier as they age. Both play a role in how older workers remain on the job.
"If you're not moving up in the corporate ladder because there's no space for you to move, then your earning potential is actually stalled," Jasmine Escalera, a career expert, told Axios.
This can cause workers stress and anxiety, and also fuel job hopping.