The dramatic growth of older adults’ labor participation over the past 25 years, including women and people of color, is reshaping the American labor force. The current study contributes new knowledge concerning why individuals over age 50 years may be working longer despite negative impacts of deteriorating physical and mental health associated with aging. Inquiries regarding who continues to work and why can be answered, in part, by addressing how workforce engagement and health are shaped by notable social inequities along the dimensions of age, race, and gender. Guided by cumulative advantage/disadvantage and intersectionality frameworks, we examine whether having multiple chronic conditions (MCC)—two or more physical conditions—and depression affect workforce participation. Using multinomial logistic regression models, we analyze the 2014–2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 4250). Findings reveal that having multiple chronic illnesses increase the likelihood of labor force exit, especially among workers who also have depression. We also discover intersectional nuances which illuminate complex race-gender dynamics related to health and work processes in later life. We conclude with recommendations for workplace policy that promote the retention of older workers with chronic illness and depression and aim to decrease disparities in older workers’ work engagement.

过去 25 年来，包括女性和有色人种在内的老年人劳动力参与率的急剧增长正在重塑美国劳动力。目前的研究提供了新的知识，即为什么 50 岁以上的人可能会工作更长时间，尽管与衰老相关的身心健康恶化会产生负面影响。关于谁继续工作以及为什么继续工作的问题，可以通过解决劳动力敬业度和健康如何受到年龄、种族和性别等维度上显着的社会不平等的影响来回答。在累积优势/劣势和交叉性框架的指导下，我们研究了患有多种慢性病 (MCC)（两种或多种身体状况）和抑郁症是否会影响劳动力参与。使用多项逻辑回归模型，N = 4250)。研究结果表明，患有多种慢性疾病会增加劳动力退出的可能性，尤其是在同时患有抑郁症的工人中。我们还发现了交叉性的细微差别，这些细微差别阐明了与晚年健康和工作流程相关的复杂种族-性别动态。最后，我们提出了工作场所政策建议，以促进留住患有慢性病和抑郁症的老年工人，并旨在减少老年工人工作参与度的差距。