Older and Out of Work: Employer, Government and Nonprofit Assistance

This Issue Brief, prepared by the Heldrich Center research staff, examines employer, federal, state, and community-based strategies designed to help unemployed older workers obtain new skills and return to work

No End in Sight: The Agony of Prolonged Unemployment

Despite positive signs of economic growth and a rising stock market, millions of unemployed Americans see no end to the Great Recession that devastated their finances and threw their lives into turmoil. No End in Sight: The Agony of Prolonged Unemployment, a nationwide Work Trends survey of more than 900 workers who have been jobless since August 2009, documents their continuing struggle to find jobs and the sacrifices they have endured in a punishing economy. The report is based on a six-month follow-up survey with the national scientific sample of unemployed Americans reported in the Heldrich Centeras Anguish of Unemployment report released in September 2009. Seventy-six percent of those interviewed in August 2009 were re-interviewed by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, California between March 10-23, 2010

The Anguish of Unemployment

A comprehensive national survey conducted among 1,200 Americans nationwide (August 2009) who have been unemployed and looking for a job in the past 12 months, including 894 who are still jobless. It portrays a shaken, traumatized people coping with serious financial and psychological effects from an economic downturn of epic proportion. The survey, conducted and released by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, a research and policy center at Rutgers University, is one of the first and most comprehensive national scientific samples of unemployed Americans during the present recession. It provides an in-depth portrait of the social and economic experiences of unemployed Americans, drawing on data and direct quotes from respondents. The study was fielded by Knowledge Networks, which contacted a nationally representative sample of the recently unemployed between August 6 and 12, 2009. The survey shows that the great recession of 2007-2009 may have long-lasting financial and psychological effects on millions of people, and therefore on the nation's social fabric. The Anguish of Unemployment is the 21st Work Trends survey, a series launched in 1998 to better understand the public's attitudes about work, employers, and the government

The Labor Market, Then and Now: Changing Realities in the 21st Century

Skyrocketing unemployment is only one of a number of profound changes transforming the U.S. labor market, workforce, and education system in the first decade of the 21st Century. The new realities affecting jobs, careers, and retirement are transforming Americans' attitudes toward work. This research brief, capturing the changing perceptions of workers between 1999 and 2009, was prepared by Carl Van Horn and Nicole Corre of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, a research and policy center at Rutgers University. The brief summarizes workforce mega-trends by drawing upon the most authoritative sources available and from the Heldrich Center's Work Trends series of two-dozen nationwide worker surveys that began in 1998. (The complete set of Work Trends surveys is available at www.heldrich.rutgers.edu)

Older and Out of Work: Trends in Older Worker Displacement

This brief examines the issue of unemployed older workers. It examines the scope and impact of unemployment on older Americans. It also looks at individuals who must work to support themselves and their families and to maintain healthcare coverage before becoming eligible for Medicare. The brief was published by the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College in September 2008

Americans' Attitudes About Work, Employers, and the Government

This first in the Work Trends survey series describes worker attitudes about the jobs and the economic prospects for themselves and their nation during the late 1990s

Taking Stock of Retirement: How Workers and Employers Assess Pensions, Trust, and the Economy

This survey polls workers and employers regarding their views on corporate scandals and the collapse of Enron, the impact of these events on trust in the workplace, and policy strategies needed to increase pension and retirement security

The Disposable Worker: Living in a Job-Loss Economy

This important survey finds many U.S. workers have experienced job loss and the pinch of economic uncertainty during the 2000-2003 recession. The survey includes a large sample of workers who lost their jobs. The survey shows that many workers were laid off without any advance notice, severance pay, health care coverage, or career counseling. However, large numbers of workers believe these services and benefits are critical to their economic survival. Worker confidence in the U.S. economy and political leadership were at the lowest levels recorded in the history of the then six-year Work Trends series

Leveraging State Economic Development Resources to Create Job Opportunities for People with Disabilities

A 2009 research brief produced for the NTAR Leadership Center, a consortium led by the John H. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Founded in 2007 under a grant/contract with the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, the NTAR Leadership Center's mission is to build capacity and leadership at the federal, state, and local levels to enable change across workforce development and disability-specific systems that will increase employment and economic self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities. This brief examines existing state, regional, and local economic development resource tools and discusses ways in which states and localities can leverage traditional loan and financing programs that enhance job creation, provide access to local employment opportunities, or help support employment for residents, including those with disabilities

Healthy at Work? Unequal Access to Employer Wellness Programs

Reports findings from a March 2009 survey of American workers' views and opinions on employer-provided wellness programs