Allegheny County does not have the highest percentage of older workers in the state.

The U.S. Census Bureau released the report of older workers in Pennsylvania yesterday, based on data collected in 2004, that shows that the Pittsburgh area has a slightly lower percentage of workers over 65 than the statewide average.

A chart from the Census Bureau shows that while Allegheny County falls into the tier of counties that have 3.2 to 3.6 percent of their workers over 65, Lawrence, Beaver, Buck, Lancaster and Lebanon are among the 14 counties in the state that have more than 4.1 percent of their work force over 65. Indeed. 31 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties had work forces with a higher percentage of senior workers than Allegheny, while only 17 were in the bottom tier with less than 3.1 percent of their workers over 65.

Beaver County, with 18 percent of its workers over 55, was tied for fourth in that category with Susquehanna County. The county with the highest percentage of workers over 55 was Sullivan, which is north and east of Centre County and had 19.7 percent of its workers in that age group.

Lawrence County, north of Beaver, was in fifth place for having the most workers over 65, at 4.8 percent.

The industry with the highest percentage of workers over 55 in metropolitan statistical areas, which are those surrounding larger cities, was educational services, which had 21.9 percent of its workers over 55. Real estate, property rental and leasing also had a high percentage of workers over 55 in the metropolitan areas, at 19.5 percent, with mining at 19 percent.

The industrial sector with the highest percentage of workers over 65 in the metropolitan areas was agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing with 6.7 percent of its workers over the age to collect their full social security benefits.

In rural areas, outside of metropolitan statistical areas, 22.5 percent of utility workers were over 55, making it the industry with the highest percentage of workers that age. Other big employers of workers over 55 in rural areas were transportation and warehousing at 21.3 percent, and educational services, at 21.1 percent.