The 10 Most Common Jobs for Older Workers
The stereotype of the senior citizen working at Borders and Home Depot appears to be true. Retail jobs are the most common occupation for workers 65 or older, according to an Urban Institute analysis to be released later this month.
Almost 7 percent of people still working past age 65 are employed as retail sales persons or their supervisors, the Urban Institute calculated. Among the workforce as a whole, only about 5 percent of people work in retail.
"It's still the case that the most common occupation is somewhat mundane like cashiers, janitors, and secretaries," says Richard Johnson, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute and author of the study. "It's still a minority of the jobs that are exciting new careers."
Here are the jobs most common among seniors, according to the study.
| Occupation | Total 65-and-Older Workers | Share of Workers 65 and Older in the Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Retail salesperson | 181,559 | 3.5% |
| 2. | Farmers and ranchers | 177,383 | 3.4 |
| 3. | First-line supervisors/managers of retail salespeople | 164,507 | 3.2 |
| 4. | Janitors and building cleaners | 146,364 | 2.8 |
| 5. | Driver/sales workers and truck drivers | 139,902 | 2.7 |
| 6. | Secretaries and administrative assistants | 139,829 | 2.7 |
| 7. | Cashiers | 110,508 | 2.1 |
| 8. | Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 108,798 | 2.1 |
| 9. | Real estate brokers and sales agents | 92,465 | 1.8 |
| 10. | Chief executives | 89,720 | 1.7 |
Source: Urban Institute calculations, 2008
| Occupation | Share of Workers in Occupation Who Are 65 and Older | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Funeral service workers | 31.4% |
| 2. | Crossing guards | 27.7 |
| 3. | Farmers and ranchers | 25.7 |
| 4. | Models, demonstrators, and product promoters | 23.1 |
| 5. | Funeral directors | 16.3 |
| 6. | Tax preparers | 14.3 |
| 7. | Farm, ranch, and other agricultural managers | 13.2 |
| 8. | Barbers | 13.0 |
| 9. | Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners | 11.6 |
| 10. | Clergy | 11.4 |
Source: Urban Institute calculations, 2008
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Reader Comments
jobs
I am 73 but look andfeel 63 I want to work in the caregiving field again, as i have for the last 10 years, but i think my age may stop me, should I lie and get a job? or just sit here and wait for death? I feel like this is what I am doing.
animal reserve in Africa
I have always wanted towork on a wild animal reserve since I was small.Just like jane Goodall studing gorilla behavior. I know they are having trouble with poachers now.I cannot stand anyone being mean to an animal as the song says your walking on the fighting side of me.I love all kinds but bottle feeding and loving one is my calling My x husband and I had a cattle farm with black angus and I raised ambaby bull calf on a bottle which was the father to many a calf he produced.My mother always said I could tame a tiger.I raised a baby flying squirrel on a bottle.I have 8 cats now.I have had dogs over the years.I just want a job overseas saving the threatned wildlife..
Jobs work-from-home
It would be wonderful if there were jobs (legimate) where you can work from home. Some excellent workers over fifty, are very
capable of working from home. There might be something physical
preventing them from going out to work on a daily basis.
Will you research this area. Thanks
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