Fact Sheet
AARP Public Policy Institute
The Employment Situation, July 2013:
Unemployment Drop for Older Workers Does Not
Translate into Employment Gain 1
Sara E. Rix
AARP Public Policy Institute
 The unemployment rate for the workforce aged 55 and older fell to 5.0 percent
in July from 5.3 percent in June. Women accounted for this decline; the
unemployment rate for older men showed a slight tick upward.
 Nearly 1.66 million people aged 55 and older were unemployed in July; that
figure is 120,000 fewer than in June and more than 300,000 fewer than the
previous July.
 Employment growth did not keep up with population growth in the older
population. The proportion of older people with jobs has remained virtually
unchanged since the first of the year.
 The average duration of unemployment for older jobseekers, which had fallen
in June, rose slightly in July to 49 weeks.
Employment and Unemployment 2
Nonfarm payroll employment, as
reported by establishments, rose by an
estimated 162,000 in July. 3 Despite
steady growth for the past 3 years,
employment in July still was about
2 million below what it was at the start
of the Great Recession in December
2007 (figure 1).
The overall unemployment rate fell from
7.6 percent to 7.4 percent between June
and July. The rate also declined for the
older workforce—from 5.3 percent to
5.0 percent (figure 2). Differences by sex
were evident in the older unemployment
rate, which ticked up slightly for men
(from 5.5 percent to 5.6 percent) but fell
for women (from 5.4 percent to
4.9 percent). 4 The labor force
participation rate for older Americans
was also somewhat lower (40.3 percent in
July vs. 40.5 percent in June). Compared
to June, an additional 351,000 older
adults were out of the labor force.
Almost 1.66 million older people were
unemployed in July, about 120,000 fewer
than in June and more than 300,000 fewer
than a year earlier. The number of older
employed workers rose by 95,000, but the
older population rose even more (by
206,000). Consequently, the proportion
with jobs (employment-to-population
ratio) did not improve, remaining at
38.3 percent (table 1), where it was at the
beginning of the year.
Duration of Unemployment
Average duration of unemployment for
jobseekers aged 55 and older fell in June
but rose slightly in July—from
48.2 weeks to 49 weeks (figure 3). 5
Jobseekers under age 55 had been
unemployed for an average of
32.9 weeks in July, up from 31.8 weeks
the month before (table 2).
The Employment Situation, July 2013: Unemployment Drop for Older Workers Does Not Translate into
Employment Gain
Figure 1
Nonfarm Payroll Employment, December 2007–July 2013*
(seasonally adjusted; number in thousands)
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Total nonfarm employment from the Current Employment Statistics Survey
(National) at http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cesbtab1.htm.
*Aged 16+; figures for June 2013 and July 2013 are preliminary.
for economic reasons (i.e., because
of slack working conditions or
because they could not find full-time
work) in July was up slightly from
June’s 4.6 percent and substantially
higher than it was at the start of the
recession (2.4 percent). 6 In July,
women were more likely than men to
be involuntary part-time workers
(5.8 percent vs. 4.2 percent,
respectively).
As of July, 47.3 percent of older
jobseekers were long-term
unemployed—that is, they had been out
of work and looking for a job for
27 weeks or more. This figure is
virtually unchanged from June.
Other Employment Indicators

At 4.9 percent, the proportion of
older employed working part time
Figure 2
Unemployment Rates by Age, July 2012, June 2013, and July 2013*
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey at
http://data.bls.gov/pdq/querytool.jsp?survey=ln.
*Rates are seasonally adjusted.
2
The Employment Situation, July 2013: Unemployment Drop for Older Workers Does Not Translate into
Employment Gain
Table 1
Selected Employment Indicators by Age Group, July 2012, June 2013, and July 2013
(seasonally adjusted)
Date
Indicator
Population (in 000s)
Labor Force (in 000s)
July
2012
June
2013
July
2013
Monthly
June 2013–
July 2013
Annual
July 2012–
July 2013
16–24
38,799
38,858
38,861
0.0%
0.2%
25–54
124,372
124,406
124,401
0.0%
0.0%
55+
80,183
82,287
82,493
0.3%
2.9%
16–24
21,407
21,605
21,473
-0.6%
0.3%
25–54
101,248
100,952
100,939
0.0%
-0.3%
32,252
33,293
33,269
-0.1%
3.2%
16–24
55.2
55.6
55.3
-0.5%
0.2%
25–54
81.4
81.1
81.1
0.0%
-0.4%
55+
40.2
40.5
40.3
-0.5%
0.2%
16–24
17,905
18,074
18,123
0.3%
1.2%
25–54
94,000
94,461
94,476
0.0%
0.5%
55+
30,279
31,517
31,612
0.3%
4.4%
Age
55+
Labor Force
Participation Rate (%)
Employment (in 000s)
Share of Population
Employed (%)*
Unemployed (in 000s)
Unemployment Rate (%)
16–24
46.1
46.5
46.6
0.2%
1.1%
25–54
75.6
75.9
75.9
0.0%
0.4%
55+
37.8
38.3
38.3
0.0%
1.3%
16–24
3,503
3,532
3,350
-5.2%
-4.4%
25–54
7,248
6,491
6,463
-0.4%
-10.8%
55+
1,973
1,777
1,657
-6.8%
-16.0%
16–24
16.4
16.3
15.6
-4.3%
-4.9%
25–54
7.2
6.4
6.4
0.0%
-11.1%
55+
Not in Labor Force (in
000s)**
Percent Change
6.1
5.3
5.0
-5.7%
-18.0%
16–24
15,327
15,536
15,355
-1.2%
0.2%
25–54
23,307
23,701
23,628
-0.3%
1.4%
55+
48,194
49,226
49,577
0.7%
2.9%
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey at
http://data.bls.gov/pdq/querytool.jsp?survey=ln.
*Employment-to-population ratio.
**Not seasonally adjusted.

The number of older, unincorporated
self-employed workers in
nonagricultural industries was just
over 3.1 million in July, almost
unchanged from the month before
but about 24,000 more than a year
earlier. 7 As of July, 10.3 percent of
older nonagricultural workers were
self-employed. This figure compares
to 10.2 percent in June and
10.6 percent in July 2012. For most
of the 5-plus years since the start of
the Great Recession, this figure has
hovered around 10 percent.

3
Most older people who are out of the
labor force say that they do not want
a job (96 percent in July, a figure
that has shown little fluctuation in
The Employment Situation, July 2013: Unemployment Drop for Older Workers Does Not Translate into
Employment Gain
Figure 3
Average Duration of Unemployment in Weeks by Age, January 2011–July 2013*
Source: Calculated from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics, Table A-36 in Employment and
Earnings Online at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/archive.htm and http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea36.pdf. Accessed on August 2, 2013.
*Averages are not seasonally adjusted.
years). The number of older people
who are out of the labor force but
interested in work rose by 189,000 in
July and was about 60,000 more than
a year earlier. Just over 1.8 million
older non-labor-force participants
said that they wanted a job in July. 8

began in 2007, at which time only
53,000 older people were classified
as discouraged workers.
Concluding Observations
July’s employment news for older
workers was not especially encouraging.
The unemployment rate was down,
although not among older men, but
employment growth for those aged 55
and older was anemic. Because job
growth did not keep up with population
growth, older Americans were no more
likely to have jobs in July than they were
in June. Neither the involuntary parttime employment rate nor the average
duration of unemployment showed any
improvement. The picture was
At 222,000, the number of older
“discouraged” workers in July was
below the 276,000 for June and the
259,000 for the previous July.
Discouraged workers were
12 percent of those older Americans
who said that they wanted a job but
were not looking, down from
17 percent in June. 9 The number of
discouraged remains well above
what it was when the recession
Table 2
Average Duration of Unemployment, Jobseekers Under Age 55 and Aged 55+,
July 2012, June 2013, and July 2013
(not seasonally adjusted)
Age
July 2012
June 2013
July 2013
Less than 55
34.9 weeks
31.8 weeks
32.9 weeks
55+
51.4 weeks
48.2 weeks
49.0 weeks
Source: Calculated from Employment and Earnings Online, July 2012 at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/2012/cps/tablea36_201207.pdf; June
2013 at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/2013/cps/tablea36_201306.pdf; and July 2013 at http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea36.pdf.
Accessed on August 2, 2013.
4
The Employment Situation, July 2013: Unemployment Drop for Older Workers Does Not Translate into
Employment Gain
apparently not bright enough to
encourage workers who had left the
workforce to return and begin the job
search anew.
and do fluctuate substantially over the
short term because of sampling error or
the small number of individuals in a
particular category who may have been
interviewed. Numbers over a longer
period (e.g., beginning to end of the
recession) or annually adjusted figures
generally provide a more reliable picture.
NOTE: Caution is urged in interpreting
month-to-month changes in some of the
employment figures. Not all figures are
seasonally adjusted, and the numbers can
Endnotes
1
Unless otherwise specified, “older” in the Fact Sheet refers to people aged 55 and older. Employment and
unemployment figures are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise noted.
2
Statistics in this Fact Sheet are from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), The
Employment Situation—July 2013, USDL-13-1527 (Washington, DC: BLS, August 2, 2013); tables in
BLS’s Employment and Earnings Online at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/archive.htm, various years; BLS
tables at http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit.supp.toc.htm; and BLS’s labor force statistics from the Current
Population Survey, available at http://data.bls.gov/pdq/querytool.jsp?survey=ln. Some numbers in this Fact
Sheet may differ from those reported in earlier Fact Sheets because of adjustments by BLS.
3
This figure is preliminary and may change. In July, BLS reported an estimated 195,000 increase in
employment for June; that figure has been revised downward to 188,000.
4
The unemployment rate for men aged 55 and older is seasonally adjusted; the rate for women aged 55 and
older is not. According to BLS, unemployment for women in this age group does not appear to show
seasonal variation.
5
Figure 3 data go back only to January 2011 because that was when BLS changed its top coding of
duration of unemployment from 2 years to 5 years. Before this change, any duration of unemployment
greater than 2 years was coded as 2 years. See U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Changes to Data Collected on Unemployment Duration, at http://www.bls.gov/cps/duration.htm.
Refers to nonagricultural workers. Data are not seasonally adjusted.
7
Monthly self-employment figures are published by BLS only for unincorporated workers employed in
their own business, profession, trade, or farm. (BLS regards self-employed workers who report being
incorporated as employees of a corporation and thus classifies them as wage and salary workers.) Selfemployment figures are not seasonally adjusted.
8
Data in this section are not seasonally adjusted.
9
Discouraged workers are not looking for work because they believe that no work is available or that there
are no jobs for which they would qualify (e.g., employers would find them too old, they lack the necessary
schooling/training). They are a subset of the
marginally employed (i.e., people who are not
Fact Sheet 290, August 2013
in the labor force who want a job and are
AARP Public Policy Institute
available for work and who have searched for
601 E. Street, NW, Washington, DC 20049
work during the prior 12 months but not in the
www.aarp.org/ppi
prior 4 weeks). See BLS at http://www.bls.gov/
202-434-3910, ppi@aarp.org
cps/lfcharacteristics.htm#discouraged. The
numbers on discouraged workers are not
© 2013, AARP.
seasonally adjusted.
Reprinting with permission only
5
Fact Sheet
6