Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, “The Shattered American Dream: Unemployed Workers Lose Ground, Hope, and Faith in their Futures (pdf):
“The recession has been a cataclysm that will have an enduring effect. It is hard to overstate the dire shape of the unemployed. Over the space of the 15 months we have been tracking our panel’s progress, just one-quarter have found full-time jobs. And virtually all of those jobs were for less pay or benefits, with 40% having to change fields or their career path to find employment. For those who remain unemployed, the cupboard has long been bare. The recession had stripped away any luxuries from them long ago. Now, on top of the half who report having to give up desirable elements of the quality of life, another 40% now say they are giving up rudiments they had long considered essential. Eighty percent report having given up something formerly fundamental to their lives in one of the areas of food, housing, or health.
The unemployed are living lives of downward economic mobility. Moreover, they manifest an air of resignation to their fates. By a margin of almost two to one, more feel they will not return to their former financial position than will. The vast majority do not simply say they have less in savings and income than they did a few years ago, but that they have a lot less. We are witnessing the birth of a new class — the involuntarily retired. Many of those over age 50 believe they will not work again at a full-time “real” job commensurate with their education and training. More than one-quarter say they expect to retire earlier than they want, which has long-term consequences for themselves and society. Many will file for social security as soon as they are eligible, despite the fact that they would receive greater benefits if they were able to delay retiring for a few years. One of the casualties of the Great Recession has been a core American principle since the founding of the nation — that if people work hard and play by the rules, they can get ahead. Now, the majority of the unemployed do not believe that simple hard work will guarantee success. They feel powerless, and voice little confidence in the government’s ability to help them.”
Further reading: