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# Are more elderly South Dakotans working?
- URL: https://www.sdnewswatch.org/senior-citizen-elderly-working-labor-jobs/
- Published: 2025-02-12T12:34:51.000Z
- Updated: 2025-02-20T12:09:21.000Z
- Description: Fact brief that refutes or confirms statements with supporting information and additional evidence and context.
- Author: Megan Luther
- Tags: Fact briefs, Business, Lifestyle

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/ab/cbabab5e-2dc6-462c-94a0-b72956c0d224/content/images/2025/01/WhiteFACT-BRIEF--500-x-200-px--2-1-1.png)

## Yes.

A growing number of South Dakotans continue to work past retirement age.

In 2018, a quarter of South Dakotans 65 and older were in the labor force. Five years later, that number climbed to 29%, above the national rate of 19%.

As of July 2024, 18% of South Dakotans were 65 and older. That's up from 14% in 2010\. 

From 2000-2020 the nationwide share of workers 60 and older doubled, due in part to the aging population and falling birth rates.

Other contributing factors include employers shifting away from pension-type retirement plans, which encourage workers to retire at a specific age, and the Social Security system raising the age for when workers can receive full benefits from 65 to 67.

*This fact brief responds to conversations such as*[ *this one*](https://www.reddit.com/r/SiouxFalls/comments/1hamloi/elderly%5Fworkforce%5Fin%5Fsioux%5Ffalls/?rdt=32815&ref=sdnewswatch.org)*.*

### Sources 

South Dakota Department of Labor,[ 2018 Workforce Report](https://dlr.sd.gov/lmic/publications/labor%5Fmarket%5Freports/workforce%5Freport%5F2018.pdf?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

South Dakota Department of Labor,[ 2023 Workforce Report](https://dlr.sd.gov/lmic/publications/labor%5Fmarket%5Freports/workforce%5Freport%5F2023.pdf?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

United States Census,[ Population 65 and Older 2024](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/SD?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

United States Census,[ Population 65 and Older 2010](https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2010.S0103?q=South%20Dakota%20age&ref=sdnewswatch.org)

National Academies,[ Understanding the Aging Workforce](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK588545/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

Pew Research Center,[ The growth of the older workforce](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/12/14/the-growth-of-the-older-workforce/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

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