Changing labor market for older workers: short and long-term trends

As the baby boomers have aged, the American labor force population has also become older, with many economic and policy implications. Employers worry about the productivity and cost effects of a larger share of older employees. Increases in life expectancy impact worker calculations about optimal retirement ages. Superimposed on the long-term aging trend, starting in 2020, the American economy suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic, which produced a sharp rise in unemployment and massive economic disruption. This special issue offers several perspectives on how the altered short-run work patterns induced by the pandemic are likely to have long-run implications.