Working 65-year-old males 1850 to 2000

The table below shows the percentage of men over the age of 65 who are still working.   Even in 1950, 50% of the men older than 65 were actively at full-time work.  Wow.

Participation in the labor force for men age 65 and up

1850	76.6
1860	76.0
1870	--
1880	78.0
1890	73.8
1900	65.4
1910	58.1
1920	60.1
1930	58.0
1940	43.5
1950	47.0
1960	40.8
1970	35.2
1980	24.7
1990	18.4
2000	17.5

Source Moen, John Essays on the labor force PhD dissertation,Univ of chicago, 1987

and Costa Dora the evolution of retirement Univ of Chicago Press, 1998