How is the Economy Affecting Older Adults?

The Urban Institute has several recent reports about how the economy is affecting Older Adults. Here are the reports and some of their highlights:

How is the Economic Turmoil affecting Older Americans? - Oct. 1, 2008

• 49% of households 50+ own retirement accounts.
• During the past 12 months, retirement accounts have lost $1.6 trillion, 18.3% of their value. (p. 2 of report)
  
• Housing prices decreased between 4 % to 20% from January 2007 to May 2008, depending on the part of the country. However, from 1998 - 2006 the inflation-adjusted median home equity for adults aged 55+ increased by 41.5%.
  

How is the Recession Affecting Older Workers? - December 17, 2008

• More older adults are working or looking for work now, compared to past recessions - the share of adults age 65- 69 participating in the labor force has risen from 20.2% in 1982 to 29.7% in 2007.
  

Senior Unemployment Rate Hits 31-Year High - January 14th, 2009

• December 2008 unemployment rate for ages 65 and older was 5.1%.
• This unemployment rate has increased 1.7% since November 2007.
  

The Urban Institute is a nonpartisan economic and social research center founded in 1968 (for more information click here).