We’ve often been told that the average of a farmer is rising. Well, maybe it’s because that’s what farming folk like to do.
A StatsCan labour market survey of people over the age of 60 who are still working was designed to figure out who worked because they had to and who worked because they wanted to do.
It’s about evenly split among the total population of people over the age of 60. But, as we get older, it changes the underlying reason.
Sixty per cent of those 60 to 64 years old work out of necessity. But by age 70, 85 per cent of those who are still working do so because they want to – either because they like what they’re doing or they like socializing with other workers.
When you break it down by industry, the most likely person to stay on the job longest because they choose to is a farmer. Two-thirds of them stay on past age 60 because it’s what they like to do. Professionals are second while those in transportation and warehousing are most likely there out of necessity.
