Labor force transitions among older African American and white men

Using a life-course/opportunity-cost framework, we study racial differences in labor force behavior among African American and white men aged 55 to 69. A multifaceted measure of labor force behavior is examined within a longitudinal framework. We perform the analyses with a merged sample of the 1984 and 1985 Survey of Income and Program Participation, and we find that the most stable status is not working, followed by full-time, part-time, and unemployed statuses. Results from multivariate logistic regression change models show race-specific effects of age, health, and not-working status on several labor force status and attrition contrasts. Researchers have much to gain by continuing to consider racial differences in late-life labor force behavior and by focusing on contemporaneous and lagged measures of life-course variables.