Occupational downward mobility among older workers in the United States of America

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With increasing age, many people ask themselves whether they are able and willing to keep on working in their occupation until retirement. For some a change of occupation is an attractive option to try out something new. Others, however, are forced to accept a downward move in order to generate any income at all, to complement meagre old-age pensions, to take on care responsibilities in the family or to come to terms with health problems. Occupational mobility, here defined as a change of occupation, is at center stage of this investigation and there is a special focus downward transitions which lead to a decrease in social prestige or generated income. Against the background of increased employment among the population aged 50 and older as well as among person receiving some sort of old-age pension - and the US is a pioneer in this development - the project investigates employment trajectories from the mid 50s onwards up until 70, depending on the birth cohort in question (1946 to 1959). To what extent do changes of occupation occur in this age group and how often are they linked to downward mobility? Comparisons of the income, weekly working hours, and social rights connected with this job (e.g. employers’ health benefits) regarding the old and new jobs will complete the descriptive analysis. A special focus will be on white-collar workers in medium and lower positions. Relating to sociological approaches on employment and respective social inequalities throughout the life course, the causal analysis within the project focuses on three factors potentially impacting occupational mobility. First, in how far does the broad professional field of the former job and its occupational status in terms of social prestige and social-class class position influence the occurrence of occupational downward? Second, do previous episodes of unemployment and other kinds of non-employment increase the risk of downward occupational mobility? Third, information on employment-related further education allows to test whether respective educational participation makes lateral and upward moves more likely. As additional control variables, the household composition and the income situation of the household as well as the respective changes over time can be statistically taken into account. The database is the US-American Health and Retirement Survey (HRS). Using the retrospective and prospective data available, the project constructs longitudinal indicators for occupational change and estimates multivariate bi- and multinomial panel regressions. The 6-month fellowship will enable a visit at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research, New York – a research unit specializing in retirement and employment of older workers and familiar with the HRS.