Losing a job can be devastating at any age. But imagine for a moment being in your 50s and unemployed.
Financial obligations increase as one ages. There are mortgages to pay off and kids to put through school. You’ve grown accustomed to a lifestyle. Some people are already thinking about retirement at that age.
“It’s a critical decade for work. It becomes more important than ever to think of job security,” said Clare Hushbeck, senior legislative attorney for AARP, an older and retired workers advocacy group. “People will do anything to keep that.”
When recession hits and older workers are laid off, they tend to be out of work longer than younger workers, statistics show. A lot of older applicants say some employers are reluctant to hire them because they make higher salaries and are perceived as lagging in skills.
Such obstacles only add to the anguish older jobless workers feel. To be sure, anyone who has been unemployed for a year or more is hurting, both financially and emotionally, said Robert Edger, a psychiatrist and assistant professor at Northwestern University. “I think we have to worry about depression setting in. That would be my biggest fear in this age group,” he said.
Talk to a 50-something unemployed worker and you can understand how one can become severely depressed.
Imagine fishing for work for months without a nibble. Dipping into your retirement savings just to make the rent or buy food. Or getting excited about a callback interview only to have the offer rescinded after revealing your age.
“It’s horrible,” said Janet, 56, who said she is too embarrassed to let her last name be used. “I feel like I’m on the verge of being homeless. I’ve even thought about suicide.”
Janet was laid off from her job as a branding consultant with the parent company of a major online job board in April 2001. She exhausted regular unemployment benefits in January and was not eligible for an extension. With only two months of savings left, last week Janet worked a two-day gig at a hotel registration desk to earn money.
“That’s what I’ve been reduced to,” she said.
A year ago today, Cynthia Lucas, 52, lost her job as a semitractor driver. It was just the beginning of her troubles.
“I buried my oldest son Sept. 10. He was hit by a truck. Then Sept. 11 happened. I wasn’t emotionally able to cope with things,” said the divorced mother. “But I don’t give up that easily. I still have two children I’m striving for to get through college.”
Lucas will soon collect her last unemployment extension benefits check of $400 for a two-week period. “I need to be working somewhere,” she said.
Roberto Austria of Wheaton, a 53-year-old accountant and father of two daughters–one grown, the other in high school–was laid off a year and a half ago from the only place he has worked since coming to the U.S. from the Philippines 25 years ago.
He was asked to stay on as a consultant for 17 months, delaying his job search. It’s hard for him to deal with the rejection.
“Sometimes, you won’t even get a call,” Austria said.
AARP’s Hushbeck said job options for older workers are slim, but workers in their 50s should be able to compete in today’s job market.
“A lot of these people are competent and all-around great workers that will find a way back. But between now and then, what?”
Lucas put it best. She has a $2,000 college bill to pay by September. That keeps her focused.
“I’m not shattered; I’m just shaken,” she said. “But I’m going forward.”
