Urban Inst. report: the changing nature of work and retirement

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Abstract

About 7 percent of American workers held highly physically demandingjobs in 2006, and 35 percent held highly cognitively demanding jobs.The share of the workforce in physically demanding jobs fell by aboutone-sixth between 1971 and 2006, while the share in cognitivelydemanding jobs increased by more than one-third. Stressful occupationsalso grew rapidly over the past 35 years. The decline in physicallydemanding occupations will likely improve employment prospects forolder adults, but the growth in cognitive demands may limit options forsome older people, especially those with limited education.