Jobless Rate Climbs For Older Workers

Talk about a summer bummer: The nation's unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.2 percent in June due to a lower-than expected increase in new private industry jobs. The new report surprised economists who had predicted substantially healthier employment growth, disturbed financial markets and renewed concerns about a double-dip recession.

The news was just as bad for older workers. The June unemployment rate for people over 45 rose for the first time this year, to 6.9 percent from 6.6 percent in May, according to the monthly jobs report the Bureau of Labor Statistics released today.

That puts the jobless rate for older workers essentially where it was during the summers of 2010 and 2009, and twice as high as in 2008 during the early days of the recession.

According to Labor Department data, the average duration of unemployment is at a record 39.9 weeks, meaning it takes the average person who loses a job nine months to find a new one.

The search for a new job could be even longer for older workers, who historically have had more difficulty re-entering the workforce once they've become unemployed. In August 2010, for example, the average time those 55 and older spent unemployed was slightly more than 39 weeks, the longest of any age group, according to a New York Times report.

During June, private employers added 57,000 jobs, with increases coming in professional and business services, health-care and leisure and hospitality industries. But state, local and federal agencies shed 39,000 positions during the same time for a net gain of 18,000 jobs. Not only was hiring essentially flat in June, but the government also lowered by 44,000 its previous reports of how many new jobs were created in April and May.

June marked the third straight monthly gain in the unemployment rate; last month also saw the fewest jobs added in more than a year. "At first, when I heard it, I thought maybe they had announced the wrong numbers, they were so bad," Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact and Opinion Economics tells CNNMoney.com.

Other reactions were just as gloomy. "This is an extraordinarily disappointing report, worse than May's," says Mark Gongloff, a Wall Street Journal markets reporter who live-blogged the jobs numbers' release.

"This is a big bucket of very cold water," writes Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics to clients. He'd earlier predicted the U.S. economy would add 200,000 jobs in June.

The jobs report prompted President Obama to hold a news conference this morning to address the issue. "Today's job report confirms what most Americans already know: We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and opportunity that they deserve," he said.

In his first-ever town hall meeting on Twitter earlier in the week, Obama said job creation wasn't as robust as previously hoped but refuted Republican claims that his administration wasn't doing enough to create new positions.

Job board listings also were flat last month. Job board Indeed reported listings changed little, with slight gains in real estate, media and transportation job listings offset by declines in listings for retail and human resources.

In the current climate, job seekers -- including boomers -- continue turning out in droves when employment opportunities come to town. In Beaverton, Ore., approximately 1,000 people sent in applications for 100 spots at a new location of a regional organic grocery store chain, and screeners expected hundreds more to show up for a related career fair this week. In late June, hundreds of applicants showed up for an Overland, Mo., job fair sponsored by a local community agency, where organizations including AARP Foundation, the Four Seasons Hotel and Enterprise were hiring entry-level and more highly skilled workers. Hundreds more came to a June 17 job fair at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., looking to nab one of 2,000 jobs during the track's 40-day season.