Labor force participation rates for older males (ages 55 – 64 and 65+) declined steadily from 1948 until the mid-1990s.  For males age 55 – 64, the decline was from nearly 90% in 1949 to about 64% in early 1994; for men 65 and over, from about 46% in 1948 to less than 16% by the end of 1993.  (http://www.bls.gov/cps/data.htm)  Then, labor force participation for both age groups began to rise, and have risen fairly steadily over the last decade-and-a-half [to about 71% (about a 10% increase) and 22% (about a 35% increase), respectively].  While the recent declines in teen labor force participation rates have been examined (Aaronson, et al., 2006; Coffin, 2007; Kirkland, 2002), the equally significant changes in older male labor force participation have gone largely unremarked.  In this paper, I examine the causes of the changes in older male labor force participation using both a time-series approach (using BLS data on labor force participation and other relevant data) and a cross-section/time-series approach using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

Aaronson; Daniel; Park, Kyung-Hong; and Sullivan, Daniel (2006).  ”The Decline in Teen Labor Force Participation.”  Economic Perspectives.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Vol. 30, No. 1), pp. 2-18.

Coffin, Donald A. (2007).  “Understanding the Decline in the Labor Force Participation of Teenagers.”  Journal of the Indiana Academy of Social Sciences.  Vol. XI, pp. 99-09/

Kirkland, Katie (2002).  “Declining Teen Labor Force Participation.”  Issues in Labor Statistics.  http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils49.pdf.