Older Workers, Precarious Jobs, and Unemployment: Challenges and Policy Recommendations

November 6, 2019

Findings from a Heldrich Center survey of voluntary and involuntary part-time older workers.

In one of the best labor markets in decades, millions of older Americans work in precarious or part-time jobs with low wages and no benefits, or cannot find employment. Many older workers have limited savings or pensions and must work to supplement Social Security payments. Findings from a Heldrich Center survey of voluntary and involuntary part-time older workers and a survey of older, long-term unemployed individuals in the center’s New Start Career Network program reveal policies that would help older workers. This article was published in the fall 2019 issue of Generations: The Future of Work and Older Workers (American Society on Aging).