AARP: Grim Unemployment Numbers Underscore Need To Provide Immediate Relief to Workers

January 9, 2009

Contact: David Nathan, AARP, 202-434-2560, dnathan@aarp.org

WASHINGTON – AARP today reacted to the grim new statistics on 2008 unemployment figures by renewing its call to extend unemployment insurance benefits for jobless workers and announcing that it has put together several worker assistance programs featured on a new online portal. With 1.4 million older workers now facing unemployment, AARP has asked President-elect Obama to include an extension of unemployment insurance benefits in his upcoming stimulus package. In addition, AARP has recently launched a new online portal to assist older Americans during this difficult economic time. The website address is www.aarp.org/realrelief.

“Workers age fifty and older – along with those in other age groups - have been buffeted by layoffs and reorganizations that have been spawned by the worst economic downturn in decades,” said Tom Nelson, AARP Chief Operating Officer. “Mature workers are especially vulnerable because it takes them longer to find new jobs, and they often face severe obstacles in getting health care coverage.”

“As part of our effort to help those vulnerable workers, AARP has established a one-stop online site to help in the job search,” Nelson added.

Nelson noted that the Department of Labor employment figures released today showed that 4.9 percent of age 55 and older workers were unemployed last month, a jump of 58 percent over one year ago and the highest figure since 1983. (AARP Public Policy Institute Fact Sheet on Unemployment and Older Workers included below.)

With that gloomy background, he reiterated that Congressional passage late last year of the extension of unemployment benefits was an important step to help take at least some of the financial pressure off working families struggling to make ends meet for their family. But as many more jobless workers are unable to find employment, he also stressed the need to extend unemployment insurance benefits in the upcoming stimulus package.

In the years ahead, employers will likely face labor shortages as more and more boomers move into their retirement years. Attracting and retaining skilled workers will become increasingly important for employers seeking a competitive edge. It is estimated that by 2016, 34 percent of the U.S. workforce will be age 50 or older, up from 28 percent today. AARP’s website can direct workers to resources that will help them obtain and maintain the skills employers will be seeking.

The new AARP “Real Relief” site focuses both on jobs and job training, and on strictly financial issues such as money management. One workforce section focuses on “Job Tips for 50+ Workers”, with suggestions for resumes, cover letters and interviews, as well as for job search strategies and issues involving self-employment and small businesses.

The new site also provides a link to the AARP National Employer Team that currently features 39 employers that recognize the role that workers age 50 and over can play in the workforce and are interested in hiring those workers.

Another service on the site for job seekers is the AARP.org search engine powered by RetirementJobs.com. This service allows applicants to search for opportunities with thousands of employers nationwide. RetirementJobs.com reviews and certifies that employers have age-friendly hiring practices.

Other Job Search web sites for age 50+ workers are listed as well.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 34.5 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's 40 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.



AARP PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE


Little to Cheer About
Unemployment and the Older Worker—December 2008

Many more workers were without jobs in December as the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent for the total labor force and to 4.9 percent for the aged 55 and over labor force. The number of unemployed increased by 632,000 in December, nearly 60,000 of whom were aged 55 or older. Of the 11.1 million unemployed men and women in December, 1.4 million were at least age 55.
On Friday, January 9, 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the unemployment figures for December 2008. As anticipated, the situation had continued to deteriorate. The unemployment rate for the total labor force was 7.2 percent, up from 6.8 percent in November.

Persons aged 55 and over experienced a less pronounced increase in their unemployment rate, which rose from 4.8 percent in November to 4.9 percent in December. Nonetheless, the December unemployment rate for the 55-plus workforce was the highest it has been since 1983.

In December, just over 1.4 million persons aged 55 and over were without jobs and looking for work, 566,000 more than a year earlier. Men accounted for nearly 60 percent of the increase.


Comparison to the Last Recession

The economy has been in recession since December 2007 and this current recession has already lasted longer than the previous recession of March to November of 2001. During the 2001 recession, the unemployment rate for the aged 55+ workforce rose from 2.7 percent to 3.5 percent, or by 30 percent. Since the onset of the current recession in December 2007, the unemployment rate for persons in this group has risen by from 3.1 percent to 4.9 percent, an increase of 58 percent.

Although the trough of the 2001 recession was November, that was not the end of the bad news for older workers, whose unemployment rate continued to climb, albeit not steadily, for some time. By March 2006, the rate had fallen to 2.6 percent, but it then rose quickly to 3 percent and hovered around 3 percent until early in the current recession.

Unemployment Lasts Longer for Older Workers

The unemployment rate for older persons is typically lower than that for the total workforce, a pattern that has continued for the past year. However, the increase in the unemployment rate over the past year was somewhat sharper for the aged 55+ workforce than for the total—58 percent vs. 47 percent.

Long-term unemployment tends to be a greater problem for older jobseekers than their younger counterparts. In December 2008, 32 percent of jobseekers aged 55 and over, 23 percent of those ages 25-54, and 18 percent of those under the age of 25 had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

Many older workers who lose their jobs drop out of the labor force rather than continue what can be a long and fruitless job search. Some of these individuals say that they would like to be working, even though they are not looking for a job. The number of older (55+) non-labor force participants who reported wanting a job rose from 826,000, or 1.9 percent of those not in the labor force, in December 2007, to 1.1 million, or 2.6 percent of non-participants, in December 2008. Some of these individuals can be classified as discouraged, i.e., they are not looking for work because they believe no work is available or could not find work, lack the necessary schooling, or fear they will be viewed by employers as too old. The number of older persons classified as discouraged by the Bureau of Labor Statistics nearly tripled from December 2007 to December 2008, rising from 53,000 to 154,000.

As bleak as the situation looked for older workers in December, the news was not all bad. The number of employed persons aged 55 and older was higher by over 875,000 in December 2008 than in December 2007, and the employment-to-population ratio for this group remained relatively stable. The number of employed aged 55 and over actually increased somewhat more than the population of those ages. In contrast, the number of employed in the total population fell by nearly 3 million, and the employment-to-population ratio for the total population declined. Persons aged 55 and older were 18.9 percent of the total employed population in December 2008, a slight increase from 17.9 percent in December 2007.

Data are from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation: December 2008, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm; Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, available at http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=ln; and Employment and Earnings, January 2008, available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/empearn200801.pdf.