Unemployment Is Hitting Older Workers Hard. Here's What to Do About It

Read the news, and you'll see staggering numbers on the jobless front. The unemployment rate reached an all-time high of 14.7% in April, and while employees of all ages have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, older workers have been hurt to an alarming degree.

In April, the unemployment rate among workers aged 55 and older was 13.6%, up from 2.6% in January. Not shockingly, older women were more likely to lose jobs than their male counterparts, with an unemployment rate of 15.5% for female workers aged 55 and over compared to 12.1% for men of that age.

Of course, losing a job can be financially and emotionally traumatic at any age. But older workers face unique challenges when it comes to unemployment. During the last recession, it took workers aged 51 to 60 an average of nine months to find another job, whereas for workers aged 25 to 34, the average time out of work was less than six months, according to the Urban Institute.