USA Today (04/05/12) Paul Davison

Older workers are gaining an outsized share of job gains in the
economic recovery as they put off retirement. In February,
employment for workers 55 and older rose by 277,000 from January,
or 65% of the total 428,000 gains, according to the U.S.
Department of Labor’s household survey. Since the start of
the recession in December 2007, employment for those 55 and older
is up by 3.9 million, even as total payrolls have fallen by 4.2
million. Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist for Barclays Capital,
notes that more-experienced employees are often more productive
and earn higher salaries, generating economic growth that itself
yields additional jobs.