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Not Taking 'Not Hiring' for an Answer

The New York Times, 11/19/09

Abstract:

Baby boomers have lived during an era of unparalleled prosperity. So when this deep recession hit — at a time when boomers were advancing to middle- and late-middle age — much was written about them being too spoiled to cope. Not so. A look at recent employment data indicates that boomers have persevered in these hard times, and are less likely to grow discouraged and quit the job hunt than younger workers are. “Older adults are not giving up,” said Steven Hipple, a Bureau of Labor Statistics economist. Despite the fact that the unemployment rate for baby boomers has doubled since the start of the recession, what the federal government calls their “labor participation rate” — the number of 45- to 64-year-olds working or actively seeking work — has remained unchanged. In contrast, every other age group has shown a decline. “Older workers don’t have the choice of withdrawing from the labor force,” said Mr. Hipple, pointing out that they have mortgages to pay, health issues and retirement to worry about, as well as children to put through college. Tory Johnson, owner of Women for Hire, which for the last decade has run job fairs in America’s 10 largest cities, has been struck by the toughness of the boomer work force. “With the 20- and 30-somethings, the attitude is, ‘No one is hiring, what’s the point of going to a job fair?’ ” Ms. Johnson said. “With the boomers, it’s, ‘Even if there’s one job, I’ll try.’ ” At her 16 job fairs so far in 2009, she said, attendance is up 10 percent over all, and it’s because of boomers; every other age group has declined.

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