經濟危機迫使美國老年人重返職場

The worst US economic recession in 70 years is forcing senior citizens out of retirement, leaving them fighting for jobs in a weak labor market or risking homelessness, according to a private study.

The study by Experience Works, released on Tuesday, showed 46 percent of the 2,000 low income people over 55 years who participated needed to find work to keep their homes. Nearly half of them had been searching for work for more than a year.

Experience Works is the nation's largest nonprofit provider of community service, training and employment opportunities for older workers. The study was conducted in the past two months and covered 30 states and Puerto Rico.

"These people are at the age where they understandably thought their job-searching years were behind them," said Cynthia Metzler, president and CEO of Experience Works.

"But here they are, many in their 60s, 70s and beyond, desperate to find work so they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table."

According to the study, many of the participants had no intention of working past their 60th birthday, but had to change plans after being laid off or following the death of a spouse. Over a third of the participants had retired.

Ninety percent of respondents 76 years and older planned to continue working for the next five years.

Huge medical bills due to a personal illness or that of a spouse were also reasons for coming out of retirement, the survey found. The longest and deepest economic slump since the 1930s is making finding a job for the low-income elderly workers a difficult challenge.

According to Labor Department data, there were 2 million unemployed workers over the age of 55 in August, an increase of 69 percent from the same period last year. Between August 2008 and August this year, the number of unemployed workers 75 years and older increased by 33 percent.

The unemployment rate among workers 55 years and older was 6.7 percent in August after shooting to a record 7.1 percent in July. The national unemployment rate was at 9.7 percent in August, the highest in 26 years.

The Experience Works study found that 46 percent of the elderly jobseekers were sometimes forced to choose between paying rent, buying food or medication. Almost three-quarters believed their age made it harder to compete for jobs with younger workers.

"This study underscores the need to create policies that remove barriers to employment for older workers and provide additional programs and services specifically aimed at helping older people re-enter the work force or remain working," said Metzler.

一項私人調查顯示，美國近70年來最嚴重的經濟危機使得一些老年人不得不重返不景氣的就業市場重新找工作，否則就可能面臨無家可歸的境地。

這項於本週二公佈的調查由Experience Works機構開展，共有2000名年齡在55歲以上的低收入者參加。調查顯示，46%的受訪者爲了養家餬口需要重新找工作，其中近一半的人已經找了一年多的時間。

Experience Works是美國最大的爲老年求職者提供社區服務、培訓和就業機會的非贏利性機構。該調查在過去兩個月內開展，調查範圍覆蓋美國30個州以及波多黎各。

Experience Works的總裁兼首席執行官辛蒂婭•麥茨勒說：“這個年齡段的人們難免會覺得他們已經過了找工作的年齡。”

“但是你看，很多六、七十歲，甚至年齡更大的人急切地想找份工作來維持生計。”

調查稱，很多受訪者本不打算60歲後繼續工作，但由於被裁員或喪偶不得不改變計劃。其中超過三分之一的受訪者已退休。

在76歲及以上的受訪者中，90%的人打算再繼續工作五年。

調查發現，自己或配偶生病需要支付鉅額醫藥費用也是老年人重新找工作的原因之一。這場自上世紀30年代以來持續時間最久、影響最深的經濟危機使得低收入的老年人在找工作時面臨了巨大的挑戰。

美國勞工部的數據顯示，今年八月，美國55歲以上的失業人數達200萬，比去年同期增加69%。從去年八月到今年八月，75歲及以上的失業人數增加了33%。

今年八月，美國55歲以上員工的失業率爲6.7%，而七月份，這一數據達到了創紀錄的7.1%。八月份全美失業率爲9.7%，創近26年來最高水平。

Experience Works的調查發現，46%的年長求職者有時不得不在付房租、購買食物和支付醫療費用之間做出選擇。近四分之三的受訪者認爲自己的年齡讓他們在找工作時很難與年輕人競爭。

麥茨勒說：“調查讓我們認識到，需頒佈一些政策來消除老年求職者的就業障礙，並提供額外的計劃和服務以幫助老年人重返職場或保住工作。”

Vocabulary:

senior citizen：an elderly or aged person, esp. one who is retired or whose principal source of support is a pension or Social Security benefits（長者，老人。委婉說法，尤指退休者）

shoot to：增長至