Self-Employment Trends and Patterns Among Older U.S. Workers

Abstract

Although self-employment is an important labor force phenomenon at older ages, there is a paucity of studies that examine the patterns of self-employment among older U.S. workers. With the leading edge of the baby boom cohort reaching retirement years, the rising rates of self-employment with age suggest that it is important to have a solid understanding of who is self-employed at older ages and how patterns of self-employment may be changing over time. Using cross-sectional time-series data from the annual Current Population Survey from 1968 to 2002 and cross-sectional data from the Health and Retirement Study from 1998, the authors examine the trend in rates of self-employment among workers age 50 and above. They describe the characteristics of older self-employed workers, in total and for subgroups, and compare them with their wage and salary counterparts.

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