Staying Fit
Job loss isn’t easy for anyone, but older workers face particular challenges getting back to work. In September, more than 1.3 million workers age 55 and older were unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among job seekers in that age group, roughly half have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, which puts them in the category of the long-term unemployed.
Even though many employers are eager to hire, many of the openings may no longer fit the needs of the people who are looking for work, especially older adults who have had to balance health, family and retirement concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The job market still needs time to adjust to these changing goals and desires, U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh said during a recent AARP event.
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“People have had a year and a half of not working or working in [a business] that isn’t there anymore, and they’re saying, ‘We want to go back to something different. We don’t want to go back to the way it was,’” Walsh said. They “don’t want to go back to the same old job that [they] had before.”
Given these changes in the job market and the desires of the long-term unemployed, the Labor Department and nonprofit organizations are starting to focus more on how older workers can get the training they need to help them switch into new careers.
