Elderly Nutrition - Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion - US ...

More older men than older
women likely to be working
Percentage of older men and women in the labor force, by age
Men age 55 and over were more likely
than women to be in the labor force,
and that proportion declined with age
for both sexes. For men age 55 to 59,
77 percent were in the labor force,
compared with 63 percent of their
female counterparts. Among people
age 65 and over, 18 percent of men
and 10 percent of women were in
the labor force.
Men
Women
10
18
44
57
63
77
55-59 years
60-64 years
65+ years
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Poverty increases with age for
older population
Of the total older population, 9.8
percent were below the poverty level
in 2001. The poverty rate was 9.4
percent for those age 55 to 64 and
10.1 percent for those 65 years and
over. Older women, in general, had a
higher poverty rate than did older men.
Percentage of older population in poverty, overall and by age
12
9.8
10.1
10
9.4
8
6
4
2
0
55+ 55-64 65+
Age
Source: Smith, D. (2003). The Older Population in the United States: March 2002. U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Reports,
P20-546. Washington, DC.
2003 Vol. 15 No. 1 93