The dependency ratio, as recorded by the Census, compares the number of children under the age of 18 and adults 65 and over to the amount of working people in each state. The residents between these two categories generally account for taxes, support and overall labor contributions toward the economy.
However, as the United States experiences an unprecedented graying in the coming years, many states are seeing their dependency ratios drastically grow. This is particularly the case when it comes to senior citizens and working people.
The Detroit Free Press reports that the number of elderly residents went up from fewer than 20 per 100 working people to 22 in the span of two years. This is a hint that home care agencies will soon have their hands full, as they help adult children take care of aging parents.
The tightening ratio "portends a profound change in Michigan, sharper on both ends than the nation will see, and a trend that will likely do more to shape the immediate future of this state than all of Gov. Rick Snyder's reinvention plans," according to the news source.