Peak Boomers: Baby Boomers’ Percent of Labor Force and Influence Has Peaked

Those aged 55 or older as a percentage of the labor force either peaked in April of 2020 at 23.83 percent or soon will. 

But what a massive run it was. Those aged 55 or older were a mere 12.89% of the labor force in 2000. 

Those aged 35-44 were 26.45% of the labor force in 2000 but dipped to 20.48% in 2016.  The number has gone up for 5 years and the percentage of those aged 45-54, now declining, will rise soon as well. 

Changing Nature of the Labor Force Detail

The big crossover that occurred in 2013 and 2014 will reverse within a decade. 

What Will The Millennials and Zoomers Do With Their Turn?

Millennials and Zoomers are the ascendent force. 

On September 2, I asked Millennials and Zoomers Inherit a Boomer Mess, What Will They Do With Their Turn?

My post was picked up by ZeroHedge leading to this question.

What About Gen X?

Youngest and Oldest Boomer

Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. 

The oldest boomer is age 75, The youngest boomer is now age 57. By 2030, every boomer will be of retirement age. 

The propensity of boomers to work will rapidly decline from here.

Numbers and Attitudes 

In terms of numbers, Millennials and Zoomers, about 72 million each, outnumber Gen X  at 62 million.

M+Z = 144 million vs 62 million Gex X.

Most Gen Z cannot yet vote, but that changes dramatically over the next decade. One key point is the priorities and attitudes of Zoomers and Millennials are similar.

According to Generation Z News, almost half of Gen Zs are minorities, compared to 22% of Baby Boomers. 

The majority of Gen Z supports social movements such as Black Lives Matter, transgender rights, and feminism.

Like it or not, the Ms and Zs will set policy. Gex X will be the forgotten generation.

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StukiMoi
StukiMoi
4 years ago
“The majority of Gen Z supports social movements such as Black Lives Matter, transgender rights, and feminism.”
And in other unforeseen news: Well indoctrinated people support what their indoctrinators told them to support… Dayum, Mabel, ain’t that weird!!
Christoball
Christoball
4 years ago
Of the 9,200 deaths per day in America, over half or 5200 of them are Baby Boomers. This is a generation that is 18 years in length. It seems the attrition slows up after the age of 75 up until the onset of advanced age. If you live past 75 you probably have better genes. https://incendar.com/baby_boomer_deathclock.php    This site has the statistics on all generations by clicking the appropriate link at the top.
Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
Reply to  Christoball
if you’re my age (65) and male right now…then the actuarial tables give you good odds of living to 86….which is my goal at the moment. Most people I run into who get much older than that seem to be really frail and helpless, which is what I want to avoid at all costs.
anoop
anoop
4 years ago
i don’t think the public are setting or getting to set policy.  policy is set by people with money like the 100 or 1000 richest people on the planet.  the rest is an illusion, kabuki theatre.  people are programmed by television, so the generation doesn’t matter.  many gen x folks support everything they are told on their favorite channel be it cnn or fox.  and cnn and fox tell them what their paymasters want them to tell their audience.
forget demographics and analyzing that — waste of time.
RonJ
RonJ
4 years ago
Reply to  anoop
Klaus Schwab wants to set policy. “Build Back Better” is his slogan and Biden, Trudeau and Johnson are using it.
The Davos crowd does not include any regular folks. The J-Hole crowd does not include any regular folks either.
We are just supposed to obey their authority.
Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
I hope some of these youngsters decide to show up in 2024, because it looks like Trump might run. Rumors of his complete political demise seem to have been overstated.
RonJ
RonJ
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
Isn’t that great? Trump upset the cushy elitists apple cart. We need more like him. California Democrats are terrified that Elder might win and upset their cushy elitist apple cart.
I notice also that Trudeau is getting something less than a warm fuzzy greeting on his Canadian bus tour.
Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
Reply to  RonJ
I can support a Larry Elder, but never a Donald Trump. Conservative is one thing, megalomania is another….Trump is a misguided and dangerous man, and will be until he fades from power completely, as far as I’m concerned.
jiminy
jiminy
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
Elder is following the Trump playbook.  Make a media splash and enrich yourself in the process.  I now see Larry in his speedboat selling pain medicine and in at least one other commercial.  I don’t know if Elder actually believes anything but it does know how to use the media.
whirlaway
whirlaway
4 years ago
Reply to  RonJ
Elder might single-handedly win the recall… for Newsom.    If he was not on the ballot, the lack of enthusiasm of the D voters might have created a situation where Newsom got < 50 percent, and then one of the garden-variety Republicans O(Cox, Faulconer, Kiley etc.) could have made it, perhaps with as little as 20-25 percent of the votes.   Not anymore.   Every time Elder opens his mouth to make one of those Trumpy statements, Newsom’s win margin increases by 1 or 2 percentage points.  I expect Newsom to win the recall  byat least 55-45, and maybe even with a 60-40 margin.
Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
Reply to  whirlaway
I have expected Newsom to hang on from the outset, which I’ve said here several times now. I like Elder, but I don’t agree with him on every point, by any means.
In general, I give Newsom good marks for handling the pandemic, which seems to be why most of the recaller types hate him. I dislike him because I think he was a poor mayor when he was mayor (I used to like SF a lot before he came along) , and because he’s a poor governor, for reasons other than his handling of COVID…mostly for his unashamed tax-and-spend mentality and his Woke politics and PC.
Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
Yup, you’re a victim of today’s mass media. President Cluster F*(k was a great improvement. Trump ruffled feathers and had a big-ego issue, but he challenged the we-know-what-is-good-for-you establishment. Biden is plain catatonic.
Kick'n
Kick’n
4 years ago
Reply to  Captain Ahab
You don’t understand the malignant sociopathic narcissist. I suggest watching “Unfit” and educating yourself on the psychology. It is real science believe it or not. The CIA does profiles of every world leader for the president’s perusal. The FBI finds criminals with psychology. Trump’s only objectives are power/adulation/money. His “charisma” only makes him appear concerned for others. Serial killers are the same way. Anyway, I am hearing Melania really, really doesn’t want to go back. And he’s getting older. And there’s always a risk he could lose again. Not sure he could take that again. Hopefully the Justice Dept will catch up with him. If you think an intelligent educated person is an elitist gave me that over a demagogue everyday.
jiminy
jiminy
4 years ago
Reply to  Kick’n
Independent voters, like myself, abandoned Trump.  He only appears to a limited demographic.
Felix_Mish
Felix_Mish
4 years ago
Another way of looking at all this:
Note that currently 25-35 year old baby boom echos are the baby boomers of 2021. Same kind of bump as 30 years ago but less pronounced.
Currently, the US is a bit past half way to the rectangle shape of 2071 from a pre-industrial, Christmas-tree population tree shape. Notice that humans have had on the order of a couple thousand generations of breeding for a Christmas tree population. And 1 generation to adopt to a rectangular shape.
The bottom line is people 25 to 60 support the others, including those in the 25-60 age range who, for one reason or another, can’t pull their weight. If you’re 25-60, you might round the numbers out to figure your share is to support yourself and 3 others. A kid. An old folk. And someone who just can’t support themself. The mix might change, but this has always been true.
Tengen
Tengen
4 years ago
I’m getting happier every year to be Gen X. Given the trajectory of our society, commentary on generations will be all blame and no praise. Not being in the discussion is a blessing.

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