Gen Xers Are Kings of an Uncertain Job Market

Amid uncertain times in the job market one thing stands out — Americans in their 50s are working like never before. The employment-population ratio for this age group, which comprises the heart of Generation X, hit an all-time high in September and remained pretty close in February even though these statistics aren’t adjusted for the seasonal factors that tend to drive employment down early in the calendar year.1

The employment-population ratio for so-called prime-age workers 25 through 54 remains quite high, too, but below the record levels of the late 1990s. A comparison of age-group employment and labor-force participation rates now with those from just before the start of the job dislocations of the Covid-19 pandemic makes clear just how much Americans in their 50s and early 60s stand out.