Number: RL32757
Title: Unemployment and Older Workers
Authors: Julie M. Whittaker, Domestic Social Policy Division 
Abstract: This is one in a series of reports that explore issues of our aging society. This report examines how unemployment has a different impact on the older worker. As workers age, negative  but previously temporary  events such as unemployment may push otherwise firmly entrenched workers out of the labor force. While older workers are less likely than others to experience a spell of unemployment, those older workers who do experience unemployment have a higher incidence of withdrawing from the labor market. Some studies have found that unemployment in older workers contributes up to a one-third increase in the probability of retirement.
Pages: 20
Date: August 29, 2007