New York’s graying workforce: Residents over 65 are holding onto jobs longer and driving healthcare to become one of the ‘fastest-growing’ sectors
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November 9, 2026, 11:47 AM ET
New York has long been the land of opportunity, but sluggish hiring and a graying workforce will “restrict employment growth” in the state.Paul Piebinga / Getty Images
Workers from across the country have long flocked to New York to chase dream jobs and lock down six-figure salaries—but now the opportunity landscape has changed. Professionals have to compete for a limited number of roles, and baby boomers are holding on tight to jobs that might otherwise be up for grabs.
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A new report from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office reveals that the state continues to struggle with strained hiring and cautious business expansion in an uncertain economy. Total statewide employment is estimated to grow only 0.2% in 2026 and 0.3% in 2027, after rising 1% the year before. Hiring will remain sluggish through next year, the report forecasts, and workforce growth will be subdued because of New York’s shrinking, graying population.
“The growth of the State’s labor supply will be limited due to constraints in population growth and the aging workforce,” the report notes. “These trends will likely restrict employment growth, but unemployment rates should remain stable.”
Currently, 19.3% of New York’s population is 65 and older—up from 15% a decade ago—according to Hochul’s mid-year report. These baby boomers are intensifying the need for social and healthcare services, in-demand industries that have been battling severe labor shortages across the country. On top of that, America’s oldest working cohort is delaying retirement to make ends meet; a 2022 study from New York’s Office of Budget Policy and Analysis found that residents aged 65 and up were the only group that showed significant labor growth over the 10 years. Older Americans are driving demand for workers in certain industries while potentially delaying the vacancies younger professionals would compete to fill.
“Demographic shifts are driving demand for health care and social assistance, making this the fastest growing sector in the labor market,” the recent report explains. “Anticipated shifts in Federal healthcare funding raise concerns about the sector’s ability to sustain employment growth. Meanwhile, job growth in leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and construction is expected to remain weak due to high interest rates and a slowing economy.”
Now, New York is struggling to expand its pool of available workers even as businesses pull back on hiring. The state’s workforce was 1% smaller in 2021 than it was a decade earlier, compared to a nationwide increase of 5.1% during the same period, according to the 2022 report. And the combination of a shrinking labor pool and an increasingly older workforce isn’t unique to New York; across the U.S., baby boomers are staying on the job well past traditional retirement age, reshaping what it means to leave the workforce for good.
America’s graying workforce: baby boomers are staying afloat by keeping their jobs
The number of those who are working past 65 has quadrupled in the U.S. since the 1980s, according to 2023 analysis from Pew Research Center, with around a fifth of the older generation holding down their jobs.
Beyond using employer-provided healthcare for as long as possible and keeping their schedules full, Americans are working longer because they worry their savings could run dry. Over two in five retired Americans, about 20 million people, worry their funds won’t support their ideal retirement lifestyle, according to a 2025 survey from investment banking firm D.A. Davidson. Now, Americans plan to work for four years longer than they’d wish to keep their heads above water amid a high cost-of-living and surging healthcare expenses, according to 2026 research from Economist Enterprise.
“I think that the days of retirement being a one-time, one-way exit and then you’re done are over,” Elizabeth White, author of 55, Underemployed, told Fortune in 2024.
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For some who have already called it quits on their careers, that fear has already become a reality. Nearly 20% of American retirees are “struggling” or “living the nightmare,” according to a 2025 study from Schroders. Meanwhile, only 5% said they were “living the dream.” Now, the price of clocking out for good is in the millions.
When BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, surveyed U.S. voters earlier this year on how much they think they’d need to retire comfortably, the average response landed around $2.1 million. And Larry Fink, the company’s CEO, said that “almost no one” is close to reaching that goal; BlackRock’s study found that 62% of respondents had less than $150,000 saved for retirement—about 7% of the $2.1 million they think they’d need to stop working. Fink also pointed out that the U.S.’s climbing senior care costs and lack of preparedness for rising life expectancy is exacerbating America’s retirement savings problem.
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About the Author
By Emma BurleighReporter, Success
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Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. Before joining the Success desk, she co-authored Fortune’s CHRO Daily newsletter, extensively covering the
