Think news that the unemployment rate dipped again last month to a four-year low is an auspicious sign for the economy? Well, you’re correct —that is, if you’re a female age 55 or over, without any unemployed children to worry about.
According to the AARP, the unemployment rate for older women plunged to just 5 percent in November, down from 5.8 percent this time last year. Compare that with the national number of 7.7 percent.
If you’re an older man, 55 or over, the rate came in at 6.2 percent or 1.5 percent below the national average. As a recent study by the Heritage Foundation notes: “Older workers have become much less likely to retire since 2007.”
For millions of baby boomers trying to rebuild their 401(k) plans and the equity in their homes, delaying retirement makes a lot of sense. That’s why 1 in 5 Americans over 65 is working or looking for work, a postwar high.
But it’s an ominous trend for the children of boomers who can crash at their parent’s homes but can’t crack the job market.
That’s because while senior employment levels have skyrocketed 25 percent over the past five years, the flat-lining of employment across the rest of the age spectrum has shown a stark and disturbing contrast.
The number of American workers who should be in the prime of their careers, ages 25 to 54, actually shrank by 400,000 last month, bringing the total number of US workers in that age range to 94 million.
That’s precisely the level it was more than 15 years ago in April 1997, when the US had 46 million fewer people than it does today. “In other words,” as Zero Hedge noted on Friday, “in the past 15 years not a single incremental job has been gained in this most productive and lucrative of age groups.”
Yes, there will be a lot of talk for the rest of the year about the fiscal cliff, but behind the job numbers the demographic details are daunting. The jobless numbers are a ruse, and a crisis on the student-loan front is looming.