The unemployment rate among younger workers may be higher, but economists are equally worried about those who are middle-aged and out of work, reports the Wall Street Journal. That's because the years between 45 and 60 should be prime earning years, a time when parents might well be trying to send kids to college and simultaneously caring for older parents. The ramifications can hit all three generations hard, especially considering that it usually takes older workers more time to find new jobs.
As of May, about 3.5 million middle-aged Americans were unemployed—a rate of 6%—but 39% of them had been jobless for more than a year. That long-term figure is "unprecedented in modern US history," says the Journal piece. It's part of what makes this downturn so devastating: It has hit not only newbie workers but also "productive, steady workers in the prime of their careers—people who are ordinarily the backbone of the economy." (More unemployment stories.)
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