“The unsung victims of America’s jobs crisis are older Americans and retirees, including those on Social Security,” according to Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens.

He pointed to government reports that indicate the number of seniors in the workforce has been increasing steadily in recent years and that by 2014 the number of older workers and retirees going back to work will have increased by as much as 74%.

Weber noted that “at a time when seniors are receiving lower interest on their savings and when prices at the gas station and the grocery store are at near record highs, many seniors need to supplement their retirement benefits by going back to work.  The problem is that throughout the recession and continuing during its stagnant aftermath, government programs have failed to create enough jobs to go around and unemployment levels remain at record highs for everyone, including seniors.“

The most recent jobs report for July 2012 showed that 163,000 new jobs were created during the month, and “while it was cause for celebration for some politicians, it masked the fact that we need to be creating 300,000 jobs per month just to keep pace with the demands of the workforce,” Weber pointed out.

“The harsh reality is that also in July the unemployment rate actually rose to 8.3%.  So much for job creation,” Weber explained commented, noting that seniors in the workforce who find themselves suddenly unemployed face what he calls unique problems.

“For one thing, they are competing for jobs with younger workers and the simple fact that they are older puts them at a disadvantage.  In economic times such as this, it’s easy for employers to discriminate on the basis of age.”

The AMAC chief also explained that individuals collecting Social Security can find it harder to collect unemployment insurance, even though they have steadily paid for it.  “Either they won’t qualify because of the benefits they are receiving – meager as they are – or, if they do qualify, their unemployment income might be reduced by the amount of their Social Security income.”
    
The Association of Mature American Citizens [http://www.amac.us] is a vibrant, vital and conservative alternative to those traditional organizations, such as AARP, that dominate the choices for mature Americans who want a say in the future of the nation. 
   
Daniel C. Weber founded the Association of Mature American Citizens in the summer of 2007. Dan Weber sees AMAC as a way to unite citizens to defend our American way of life. To enrich the lives of AMAC’s members, Weber has assembled a package of benefits and discounts for Americans 50+ that they can get nowhere else.
For more information please visit http://amac.us.