The survey shows the impact of the recession goes far beyond the 9.5 percent of the workforce that is unemployed and the 16.5 percent underemployed. About a third of respondents — 32 percent — said they have been unemployed for some period of time during the recession.
The prolonged recession — the longest in recent history — has left a big mark on the country, Paul Taylor, the Pew project director, told ABC News.
“What this report demonstrates is the breadth and depth of the impact of this recession on the American public,” he said. “It’s hit almost everybody in one way or another, and two and a half years after it began, people are still feeling the effects. This is still very much with us.”
The survey points to the immediate need for action to create jobs and stem the economic hemorrhaging, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. But Republicans in Congress have refused to act to create jobs, stop layoffs and help the jobless..
Trumka cited even more evidence from the Pew survey that action is needed: About half of Americans said their household’s current financial situation is worse now than before the recession, and many see a long road to recovery, with 63 percent predicting that it will take them at least three years to recover financially.
The survey also found that the recession has caused consumers to spend and borrow less and lowered their expectations about their retirements and their children’s future. More than a quarter of Americans say their children will have a worse standard of living than they now have, compared to just 10 percent a decade ago.
A third of adults now say they are not confident they will have enough income for a secure retirement. Among adults 62 and older who are still working, a third say they have already delayed retirement because of the recession. And among workers in their 50s, about six in10 say they may have to do the same.
Click here to read the full report on the survey.
James Parks reports for the AFL-CIO news blog, where this article originally appeared.
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The survey shows the impact of the recession goes far beyond the 9.5 percent of the workforce that is unemployed and the 16.5 percent underemployed. About a third of respondents — 32 percent — said they have been unemployed for some period of time during the recession.
The prolonged recession — the longest in recent history — has left a big mark on the country, Paul Taylor, the Pew project director, told ABC News.
“What this report demonstrates is the breadth and depth of the impact of this recession on the American public,” he said. “It’s hit almost everybody in one way or another, and two and a half years after it began, people are still feeling the effects. This is still very much with us.”
The survey points to the immediate need for action to create jobs and stem the economic hemorrhaging, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. But Republicans in Congress have refused to act to create jobs, stop layoffs and help the jobless..
Trumka cited even more evidence from the Pew survey that action is needed: About half of Americans said their household’s current financial situation is worse now than before the recession, and many see a long road to recovery, with 63 percent predicting that it will take them at least three years to recover financially.
The survey also found that the recession has caused consumers to spend and borrow less and lowered their expectations about their retirements and their children’s future. More than a quarter of Americans say their children will have a worse standard of living than they now have, compared to just 10 percent a decade ago.
A third of adults now say they are not confident they will have enough income for a secure retirement. Among adults 62 and older who are still working, a third say they have already delayed retirement because of the recession. And among workers in their 50s, about six in10 say they may have to do the same.
Click here to read the full report on the survey.
James Parks reports for the AFL-CIO news blog, where this article originally appeared.