WASHINGTON: The American workforce is growing older at an unprecedented pace, a new survey released on Tuesday by the US Census Bureau highlights a demographic challenge that could complicate President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb immigration.

Workers aged 55 and older have been the fastest-growing group in the US labour force for more than two decades. Their share has risen from 10 per cent in 1994 to 24pc in 2022. Yet the distribution of older workers is far from uniform across industries and states. Some sectors and regions have far higher concentrations of older employees than others, according to the Census Bureau’s survey of Business Dynamics Statistics of Human Capital (BDS-HC).

The utilities sector has seen the most dramatic shift. In 2006, 35pc of employment in this sector was at firms where at least a quarter of workers were over 55. By 2022, that figure had jumped to 80pc.

Manufacturing and wholesale trades have also seen substantial increases: in 2000, only 14pc of employment in these sectors was at firms with at least a quarter of older workers; by 2022, the share exceeded 40pc.

In contrast, Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services remain largely populated by younger workers. Only 14pc of Retail Trade employment and 10pc of Accommodation and Food Services employment is at firms with high shares of older employees.

State-level differences are equally pronounced. Maine, with the nation’s highest median age of 44.7 in 2022, has 39pc of employment at firms where at least a quarter of workers are over 55. Utah, the youngest state with a median age of 32, has only 14pc.

States with median ages between 39 and 41 — including New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois — have at least 30pc of employment at firms with high shares of older workers.

Even within states with older populations, patterns vary: Florida’s median age of 42.6 is higher than New York’s, yet only 25pc of employment is at firms with a quarter of older employees, reflecting differences in local industries and occupations. The survey also shows how workforce age shapes firm dynamics. Companies with more older workers tend to create fewer jobs and launch fewer new establishments, though they are equally likely to close existing ones compared with younger-workforce firms.

On average, firms with 25pc – 50pc of employees over 55 shrank about 2pc per year, while firms with less than 10pc older employees grew around 2pc. Start-ups are consistently younger: 10pc of employment at newly opened firms is at businesses where over half of workers are aged 19–24, compared with only 3pc at firms older than 11 years.

More mature firms are more likely to have higher shares of employees over 55, while start-ups tend to hire younger workers in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s.

Metro-level population trends reinforce the picture. Nearly all of the nation’s 387 metropolitan areas saw growth in residents aged 65 and older between 2020 and 2023, while about 80pc of metro areas experienced declines in children aged 0–14. Large metros such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have seen the number of children decline, whereas younger metros like Provo–Orem–Lehi, Utah, and some Texas cities retain a lower median age and more children.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2025