At any rate, if older workers are dropping out of the workforce then shouldn't that create more opportunities for younger workers?
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I recently read somewhere that the answer to your question, according to most economists, is no. It's described as a variant of this fallacy...

I'll have to think about that one for a while.

But back to Krugman. He writes:
"But remember those aging baby boomers: the fraction of American adults who are in their prime working years is falling fast. Once you take the effects of an aging population into account, the numbers show a substantial improvement in the employment picture since the summer of 2011."

The Gallup data indicate that the youth underemployment rate was 31% in September. In September 2011 it was 29% and in April 2011 it was 31%.
www.gallup.com/poll/157499/payroll-population-rates-higher-a...
www.gallup.com/poll/154553/One-Three-Young-Underemployed.asp...
Few would call that a 'substantial improvement in the employment picture'.

DB2