Senior Job Seekers
With home values down, the worth of 401(k) accounts shaky, and the boomer generation reaching retirement age, there may be more older adults who want to work than there have been in a long time. But a new study warns that seniors without jobs are likely to have a hard time getting back to work.
The report. "New Unemployables" by Boston College's Sloan Center on Aging & Work and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, found that 67 percent of the older job seekers it surveyed spent more than a year looking for work.
It also found that 84 percent of older workers who were unemployed in August 2009 were still looking for work in March 2010.
Aside from the possibility of age discrimination, the study found older workers may not be doing all they could to make themselves more employable. It found that only 13 percent of older jobseekers had used online social networking, compared to 28 percent of their younger counterparts.
Similarly, 12 percent of the older workers had taken education or training courses in the past year, versus 20 percent of the younger ones.
Study co-author Carl Van Horn, of the Heldrich Center, said retirement is unrealistic for many older workers. He said they need help with job searches, training and education, as well as open-minded potential employers.
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