Popularly seen as the province of the young, it now provides work for a growing number of people in their 50s, 60s and beyond. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics includes independent contractors (who may be self-employed but well compensated) and estimates that 11.4 percent of those aged 50 to 62 have nontraditional jobs. The Government Accountability Office, using an even broader definition including part-timers, says the figure is 31.2 percent. Their study defines nontraditional jobs as those that provide no health insurance or retirement benefits. Some nontraditional workers, for instance, can forgo benefits because their spouses have them.

Source: New York Times October 25, 2019 15:56 UTC