login | register

The “new unemployables’: Older job seekers struggle to find work during the great recession

in
Publisher: 
Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College
Author: 
Heidkamp, M., Corre, N., Van Horn, C.
Date published: 
16 December, 2010
Region: 
United States of America
Publication type: 
research
Featured item on home page: 
no

Researchers at Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College recently released a research brief outlining the employment challenges faced by adults 55 years old and older.

The Sloan Center report suggests that while the current recession has hit nearly every population segment very hard, older job seekers are having a significantly harder time reentering the workforce than younger adults. Some key findings:
1)    Many older adults are supplementing their job searches with part-time employment, while others are dropping out of the labor force believing they will never find a new job.
2)    Significantly less older respondents (12%) than younger adults (20%) had taken education or training courses during their unemployment.
3)    Financial problems related to job loss have severely impacted the retirement and savings accounts of older workers
4)    Older workers commonly point to age discrimination to explain their prolonged unemployment
5)    Older job seekers are using a different set of job search tools than younger job seekers.

To read the brief please follow this link: Heidkamp, M., Corre, N., Van Horn, C. 2010. The “new unemployables’: Older job seekers struggle to find work during the great recession. Issue Brief 25 The Sloan Center for Aging and Work at Boston College.

Back to top