The jobs outlook is poor for all age groups but older workers are buffeted not only by high unemployment but also by especially staggering jobless periods as the economic “recovery” moves into its third year.
That is the bleak picture provided by the AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) analysis of the July unemployment report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
AARP PPI’s analysis showed that, in July, older workers had an average duration of unemployment of more than one year, 52.7 weeks, compared with 52.4 weeks in June. In comparison, the average duration of unemployment for these workers at the start of the recession in December, 2007 was only 20.2 weeks.
The unemployment rate for older workers was 6.9 percent in July, compared with 7.0 percent in June and more than double the 3.2 percent rate in December, 2007.
The unemployment for the entire workforce was 9.1 percent in July, compared with 9.2 per cent in June.
“Older workers continue to struggle in the face of long periods of joblessness, with less hope today that they can find work quickly,” said Jeffrey R. Davis, AARP’s Senior Vice President of Media Relations. “Their situation is especially difficult against a backdrop of rising health care costs, reduced home values, and a loss in retirement savings—all of which impact their ability to achieve health and retirement security in the long run.”
