Baby Boomer Jobless Numbers Improve
When it comes to unemployment, Baby Boomers saw a little light at the end of the tunnel in January, reports AARP.
Fewer Baby Boomers were unemployed in January than in December.
But joblessness is still a problem for older workers — they remain out of work longer than other age groups.
AARP Bulletin reported the unemployment rate for that the 55 and older group fell to 6.8 percent in January, down from 7.2 percent in December. For those ages 45 to 54, the jobless rate declined to 7.6 percent last month from 7.9 percent a month earlier.
Compare that to all age groups: The jobless rate fell to 9.7 percent in January from 10 percent in December.
The AARP Bulletin offered the following stats on the length of unemployment for Boomers:
- Just over half of unemployed people age 55-plus had been out of work for at least six months;
- The average length of time that older workers were without a job in January increased to 35.9 weeks, up from 34.7 weeks in December;
- Workers under 55 were out of work an average 27.8 weeks last month, compared with 28.1 weeks in December.
That tells us that the jobs are coming back, but might not be coming back enough yet to turn the tide for unemployed Baby Boomers who are currently looking for work.
The recession, at least economically, is over. But many analysts call this a jobless recovery: the economy is getting better, but the jobs outlook isn’t yet.
The recession — and the fact that so many Baby Boomers are out of work — is given as a reason why the Social Security fund is now so much lower that analysts would have expected.
Boomers who hadn’t planned on retiring yet are out of work and taking advantage of their eligibility for benefits.
Category: Baby Boomers, Career & Work
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Thanks for the report on boomer jobless numbers.
Rita blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
How is this data collected? If it is based on UI sources, the information may not be accurate. Once your UI benefits exhaust, you fall out of the database. It doesn’t mean you are now gainfully employed, it could just mean you are now homeless and destitute.
Notwithstanding all the news about the bad economy & high unemployment, we have never been so busy. More work than we can handle. Our firm is hiring and has advertised positions, yet we have received very few resumes and the positions remain unfilled. Granted, the positions we have are for highly skilled, highly educated persons … but I’m surprised, in light of all the news about the economy, that we cannot find enough employees.