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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

AARP Survey Reports that Half of Older Workers Who Were Unemployed in Last Five Years Remain Jobless

According to a survey conducted by AARP, 50% of the surveyed 45- to 70-year-olds who experienced job losses during the past five years reported they were either unemployed or had dropped out of the labor force. Among those who had become reemployed, nearly half said they were earning less than in their previous jobs. The report on the survey&madash;"The Long Road Back: Struggling to Find Work after Unemployment" also examines the different experiences between people who had been short-term unemployed—less than six months—with those who had been long-term unemployed—more than six months.

Among other things, the survey found that:
  • 38% reported they were unemployed, and 12% had dropped out of the labor force;
  • 48% of the reemployed said that they were earning less on their current job than the job they had before they most recently become unemployed;
  • 59% of the reemployed who suffered a long-term spell of unemployment were earning less in their current job, compared to 41% who had been short-term unemployed;
  • 41% of those who experienced long-term unemployment are working in part-time jobs:
  • 53% had an occupation different from the one they had prior to becoming unemployed;
  • 25% 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.
See also AARP's Public Policy Institute initiative on Future of Work @50+.Sources: AARP Press Release (March 30, 2015); Washington Post Wonkblog"Losing a job is always terrible. For workers over 50, it’s worse." (March 30, 2015)

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