It's the new midlife crisis: No job, little hope

It's the new midlife crisis: No job, little hope


In normal economic times, Tom Gaskin would be in his peak earning years,
socking away money for retirement and paying down his mortgage.


But amid Florida's weakest labor market in decades, the 52-year-old West Palm
Beach man has been out of work for more than two years.


After losing his job as a truck driver in late 2008, Gaskin earned a security
license and has applied unsuccessfully for countless positions. He exhausted
his unemployment benefits and has relied on the generosity of his five adult
children.


"All of them kind of kick in to help me out," Gaskin said. "At
this age, you want to be in a position where you can help your children."


Things haven't worked out that way for Gaskin or for millions of middle-age
Americans who are seeking jobs.


Workers in their 40s and 50s typically count on these years to make good
money, pay off debts and fatten up their 401(k) accounts.


But with so few employers hiring, middle-age job seekers have been forced to
take on debt and dip into their savings.

Gricel Cruz of West Palm Beach was 59 when she lost her job as a manager at
Macy's. Now 61, she has found work, but only after a two-year search
depleted her savings.


"I had to use my retirement savings to survive, and I have very little
left," Cruz said. "I'm going to have to keep working."


While the job market has been frustrating for workers of all ages, mid-career
workers have fewer safety nets. Younger workers can move in with their
parents. Older job seekers can tap into their Individual Retirement Accounts
and 401(k) plans without tax penalties at age 59ȀA1/2, and they can begin
collecting Social Security at 62.


But middle-age workers typically are burdened with more financial obligations
and less flexible lifestyles.


"Going back home to crash when you're 25 isn't quite the same as when
you're 45 and you've got kids and a dog," said Sean Snaith, an
economist at the University of Central Florida.


Another source of frustration for mid-career workers: There's a shortage of
high-paying jobs, so laid-off workers in their 40s and 50s are unlikely to
land positions that pay as much as they made previously. And there's no
shortage of competition for entry-level jobs.


"You might be competing with somebody who's 10 or 20 years younger than
you, who might have skills that are more up to date than you in some cases,
and who's willing to work for less," Snaith said.


Middle-age workers say employers frequently say they're overqualified for
entry-level jobs. One 47-year-old job seeker who asked not to be named said
employers seem to ignore the successes on her résumé.


"It's almost like they want somebody in their early 20s who they can slap
around," she said.


Even so, middle-age workers are faring better than most, so it's difficult to
say they face age discrimination. The unemployment rate for 45- to
54-year-old workers was 7.3 percent in February, well below the national
average of 8.9 percent.


By contrast, the jobless rate was 15.4 percent for 20- to 24-year olds and 9.4
percent for 25- to 34-year-olds.


Some mid-career workers are starting over. After John Schneider, 46, lost his
television advertising sales job, he enrolled in Palm Beach State College's
biotech program. He's still looking for a job that will use his new skills.


"It's been a pretty tough environment," Schneider said. "Biotech
can be dicey even in the best of times."


The Greenacres man is surviving on his wife's paycheck, and the couple are
expecting twins.


Simon McKay of Boynton Beach completed an MBA in 2009, but except for some
consulting work and occasional temporary positions, he has been unemployed.
He is eager to launch his career.


"I would like to be in my career, doing my thing," McKay said. "At
44, I'm not young anymore. Time is not on my side."


But McKay takes solace in the fact that the job market is tough for everyone.
Florida's unemployment rate was 11.9 percent in January, and employers have
proven reluctant to hire until they're certain the economy has recovered.
None of that's my fault," McKay said. "I know that I've worked
very hard."


Workers who pursue new careers in their 40s acknowledge that the change can be
disconcerting. After running a business in his native Jamaica, Sean Duhaney,
43, is working on a nursing degree at MedVance Institute in Palm Springs.


"It was hard for me to adjust to being in a classroom with 18-year-olds,"
said Duhaney, a father of three who lives in Royal Palm Beach.


Getting a late start on a new career gives him less time to earn money and
make contacts, but Duhaney looks at the bright side.


"I think that's an advantage," he said. "I'm a little bit
older. I know what being on time means. I know what discipline means."


Tom Gaskin, meanwhile, keeps applying for jobs, and he stays busy by
volunteering for an AIDS-awareness charity.


"A lot of people are getting pretty desperate, because they don't know
what else to do," Gaskin said. "I love to earn my way."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/its-the-new-midlife-crisis-no-job-little-1344014.html

Thank you for posting this article.

Tell me about it. I'm in Flori-duh and have been looking since August 2009. Let's see.....51....some college, no degree... will work for less than 10.00 bucks and hour and do not need health insurance...make at least 2 -3 job contacts a week...have a wealth of diverse experience.....interviews in the last 18 months (2)....Thanks, but no thanks letters (2). Lovely, isn't it.

And to make matters worse, we have a governer that was elected that is worthless and does not give a rat's a** about the long term unemployed. Now he doesn't believe that the unemployed are actually applying for the jobs that they certify each week and wants to have random audits done to ensure that employers get called and verify that "Yes!!!! That poor sucker did apply here but we don't want to call them". Sorry to call us "poor sucker's" but that's how I feel we are viewed by the employed world.

I try to remain positive about the long term unemployed's situation but it's getting really hard. There is no incentive for employers to hire me, the incentive is for them to hire one of the laid of Space Shuttle employees because there are programs for that. It really blows and is not fair. I'm facing a different kind of discrimination because I'm not a laid of space worker but a victim of the housing market collapes in Florida. Yes, I worked in new home construction and that has all but disappeared BUT I have transferrable skills if someone would just take a leap of faith on me.

Sorry to ramble on but I am pi**ed this morning.

Nobody wants me either and I was excellent at my former job. Probably going to take early SS and try to find work to supplement it enough to pay my bills if possible.

gab1sco wrote:Tell me about it. I'm in Flori-duh and have been looking since August 2009. Let's see.....51....some college, no degree... will work for less than 10.00 bucks and hour and do not need health insurance...make at least 2 -3 job contacts a week...have a wealth of diverse experience.....interviews in the last 18 months (2)....Thanks, but no thanks letters (2). Lovely, isn't it.

And to make matters worse, we have a governer that was elected that is worthless and does not give a rat's a** about the long term unemployed. Now he doesn't believe that the unemployed are actually applying for the jobs that they certify each week and wants to have random audits done to ensure that employers get called and verify that "Yes!!!! That poor sucker did apply here but we don't want to call them". Sorry to call us "poor sucker's" but that's how I feel we are viewed by the employed world.

I try to remain positive about the long term unemployed's situation but it's getting really hard. There is no incentive for employers to hire me, the incentive is for them to hire one of the laid of Space Shuttle employees because there are programs for that. It really blows and is not fair. I'm facing a different kind of discrimination because I'm not a laid of space worker but a victim of the housing market collapes in Florida. Yes, I worked in new home construction and that has all but disappeared BUT I have transferrable skills if someone would just take a leap of faith on me.

Sorry to ramble on but I am pi**ed this morning.

In Tazzy's Corner I read an article about unemployment benefits where it talked about this situation in Florida & how they are going to start really following up on people to make sure that they are in fact applying for these jobs. What a huge waste of time & another way to make the potential employers even more mad at us,as I am sure they don't want to be wasting their time taking these phone calls all day checking up on applications.
Why is it so hard for them to understand that we are NOT happy living like this, we are NOT happy bringing in barely enough money to survive on, we are NOT happy losing our social lives, we are NOT happy not ever having any money to be able to do anything. Sorry but these people are really making me sick!

stilllooking wrote:

gab1sco wrote:Tell me about it. I'm in Flori-duh and have been looking since August 2009. Let's see.....51....some college, no degree... will work for less than 10.00 bucks and hour and do not need health insurance...make at least 2 -3 job contacts a week...have a wealth of diverse experience.....interviews in the last 18 months (2)....Thanks, but no thanks letters (2). Lovely, isn't it.

And to make matters worse, we have a governer that was elected that is worthless and does not give a rat's a** about the long term unemployed. Now he doesn't believe that the unemployed are actually applying for the jobs that they certify each week and wants to have random audits done to ensure that employers get called and verify that "Yes!!!! That poor sucker did apply here but we don't want to call them". Sorry to call us "poor sucker's" but that's how I feel we are viewed by the employed world.

I try to remain positive about the long term unemployed's situation but it's getting really hard. There is no incentive for employers to hire me, the incentive is for them to hire one of the laid of Space Shuttle employees because there are programs for that. It really blows and is not fair. I'm facing a different kind of discrimination because I'm not a laid of space worker but a victim of the housing market collapes in Florida. Yes, I worked in new home construction and that has all but disappeared BUT I have transferrable skills if someone would just take a leap of faith on me.

Sorry to ramble on but I am pi**ed this morning.

In Tazzy's Corner I read an article about unemployment benefits where it talked about this situation in Florida & how they are going to start really following up on people to make sure that they are in fact applying for these jobs. What a huge waste of time & another way to make the potential employers even more mad at us,as I am sure they don't want to be wasting their time taking these phone calls all day checking up on applications.
Why is it so hard for them to understand that we are NOT happy living like this, we are NOT happy bringing in barely enough money to survive on, we are NOT happy losing our social lives, we are NOT happy not ever having any money to be able to do anything. Sorry but these people are really making me sick!

X2