By 2020, more than one-quarter of those 65 years and older in the region will still be working. Nationally, changes in potential retirement benefits and a purportedly low rate of retirement savings by Baby Boomers may prompt many members of that age group to extend their careers. In this region, the incentive to postpone retirement will be even stronger.

The Bay Area’s high cost of living—among the highest in the country—makes it harder to save and undermines the spending power of retirement benefits. The concentration of information technology and service jobs in the region also translates into more opportunities for older workers. Many of these jobs place less emphasis on strenuous physical labor, more on accumulated knowledge, and can be performed through flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting. At the same time, the scarcity of trained workers gives companies an incentive to retain older workers.

Nationwide, more than 6 percent of the labor force held more than one job in 1995, a 14 percent increase in just 10 years. The rate is higher and will most likely increase faster in the Bay Area. Holding more than one job seems to be one way residents cope with the region’s high cost of living.

Given the Bay Area’s dubious distinction as one of the most traffic-congested regions in the United States, advances in technology may transform the office job of the future. Telecommuting hasn’t made much of an impact yet. In 1995, only 10 percent of Bay Area workers, 300,000 people, telecommuted to work full- or part-time. However, as the economics and technology of telecommuting improve, more people may work from home, attend meetings via satellite, communicate with colleagues via e-mail, and submit assignments via modem.