The young are leaving the labor force, the old are flocking to it

The Washington Post reports:

There’s been a lot of ink (or, I guess, pixels) spilled on the decline in the labor force. But the aggregate drop masks some interesting differences behind groups. Namely, the labor force participation rate among young people aged 16 to 24 has plummeted much faster than that of other age groups, even as the participation rate among the oldest Americans has risen to record levels. Labor force participation has been slowly declining for decades, in part because more young people are pursuing higher education. But there’s been a particularly sharp drop-off during the recession, as young workers have generally fared worse in the labor market than others: In 2011, their unemployment rate was 17.3 percent, while those aged 25 to 54 had an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent.

Hope and change!