Three-quarters of middle-aged and older workers who lost their jobs during the recession are either unemployed or underemployed today despite the economic recovery.
That's according to a survey by AARP that found that, among more than 2,000 individuals ages 45 to 70, half who lost their jobs during the recession either still cannot find work or decided to quit looking. And half of those who did find new jobs say they are underemployed, earning less than they did at their pre-recession jobs.
A report on the study's findings, "The Long Road Back: Struggling to Find Work after Unemployment," was released Monday in Washington, D.C.
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"As the economy continues to recover and the unemployment rate falls, there are still far too many people struggling," said Debra Whitman, chief public policy officer of the AARP. "Many Americans want to work as long as possible but our survey confirms that, once unemployed, it can take a long time for older workers to find a quality job."
The survey found that those who had been out of work for more than six months had a particularly hard time finding work. Among survey highlights:
- 38 percent of older workers who lost their jobs during the recession said they were still unemployed;
- 12 percent dropped out of the labor force;
- 48 percent of the re-employed said that they were earning less on their current job than the job they had before they most recently become unemployed;
- 39 percent of those workers were earning less per hour and were working fewer hours;
- 59 percent of the re-employed who suffered a long-term spell of unemployment were earning less in their current job, compared to 41 percent who had been short-term unemployed;
- 41 percent of those who experienced long-term unemployment are working in part-time jobs;
- 25 percent of the respondents who landed jobs and participated in training or education programs in the previous five years said it helped a great deal in finding a job.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
