“Nearly one-quarter (23%) of all survey respondents report being laid off from either a full-time or part-time job during and after the recession (over the past four years)” write Mark Szeltner Carl Van Horn, Ph.D. Cliff Zukin, Ph.D. of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development in Diminished Lives and Futures: A Portrait of America in the Great-Recession Era (see Table 1). (Adapted chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor to follow)
Work Trends report, Diminished Lives and Futures: A Portrait of America in the Great-Recession Era, explores the views of employed and unemployed Americans about the economy and their experiences during and after the Great Recession, and asks them to assess the nation’s political institutions, leaders, and public policies.
The study probes the views of a nationally representative sample of 1,090 American workers to investigates American workers’ views about the:
- Near-and long-term outlook of the economy and the labor market,
- Impact of the recession on Americans’ finances,
- Perceptions of the causes of unemployment,
- The role of government in ameliorating unemployment, and
- Potential policy strategies to help the unemployed.
The data reveal several distinctions across demographic groups. Fewer women report layoffs than men by a margin of 19% to 27%. Twenty-two percent of white, non-Hispanic respondents were laid off during and after the recession compared to 31% of blacks and Hispanics. Older workers fared slightly better during the recession than younger workers. Nineteen percent of workers age 55 and older were laid off from a job compared to 23% of workers ages 34 to 54 and 28% of workers ages 18 to 34.
More than one-third (35%) of those who were laid off found a new job within six months of active pursuit and 16% found a new job in two months or less. Yet one-third of the respondents say they spent more than seven months seeking a new job and 1 in 10 were looking for more than two years. Some Americans have yet to find new work after being laid off — 22% say they were unable to obtain a new job. Older workers were less affected by layoffs compared to young workers; however, they have more trouble finding new jobs compared to others. Nearly two-thirds of workers age 55 and older say they were actively seeking a job for more than one year or have not yet found a new job compared to just one-third of younger workers (younger than 55) who say the same.
The Great Recession left an indelible imprint on the American workforce. Approximately 8.7 million jobs were lost between the start of the recession in December 2007 through early 2010.3 Job growth since 2010 has been steady, but insufficient to lower the unemployment rate much below 8%. Those who were directly affected by unemployment are not alone. While one in four American workers say they were directly affected through a job loss, nearly eight in ten Americans (79%) know at least someone who lost a job in the past four years. Among those who responded:
- 26% know a member of their immediate household;
- 58% know a member of their extended family (parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and such);
- 58% know a close personal friend; and
- 34% know a close friend of someone intheir immediate household.
Most Americans were directly affected by a job loss, or were just a step or two removed from it. Figure 1 illustrates how proximate the recession’s layoffs were to the average American. At the center of the circle are 23% who lost a job themselves. Next to this is the ring of 11% who, while they did not lose a job themselves, know someone else in their immediate family who lost a job to layoffs. Together, the data indicate one-third of American households — approximately 39 million — lost work as a result of the recession during the past four years.4 Another 26% were not affected in their household, but did know a member of their extended family who lost a job (parent, cousin, aunt, or uncle).
Those who were laid off during the recession and fortunate enough to find new employ- ment are generally settling for less in their new positions. As shown in figure 2, nearly half (48%) say their current job is a step down from the one they held before the recession hit. A majority (54%) report lower pay in their new job compared to the job they held before being laid off. One-quarter say their job is a step up and a higher-paying job than their last position. Among those reporting lower pay in their new job, a full third say their pay has been cut by more than 30% compared to the job they held when the recession hit. Another third say their pay has been reduced by 11% to 30%. The remaining third of employees reporting lower pay report a cutback of less than 10%.
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