Louisiana's aging workforce

The big picture: It's not uncommon these days for older Americans to stay in the workforce, particularly in states with older populations.

• In Louisiana, 20.9% of adults 65 and over are still working. Nationally, the average is 18.7%.
• Vermont (25.6%), Iowa (23.9%) and Maryland (23.4%) have the highest share of 65-and-up adults in the workforce.
• Today's older workers are better educated, working more hours and more likely to be receiving employer benefits compared to past decades, per a 2023 Pew Research Center report.

Zoom in: The 65-and-up population grew in all of America's biggest cities from 2020 to 2023.

• New Orleans had a 9.5% increase, while Baton Rouge's older population grew 9.9%.
• The national average was 9.4%.

Between the lines: Fewer older Americans are working now compared to during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

Yes, but: The share of older adults in the workforce has been generally rising since the late '80s, Emily writes.

• That's in part because of changes to Social Security and retirement plans, and in part because medical advances are extending Americans' lives and their time in the workforce.

Go deeper:

• Too many people are dying in Louisiana.
• America's senior cities, mapped.
• America is hurtling toward a gray trap.