Down, Not Out: Surreal Unemployment At 55

For Steve Dittmann, 55, unemployment has been surreal:

"It's like there's two worlds out there: People who are still working, who are still living the same lives they always had, and I feel like I'm on the other side of a Plexiglass wall looking in," said Dittmann, who lives in Kansas. "I know I'm not unique. It's like you can't get back into that world. It's very strange."

Dittmann wrote the Huffington Post to say he'd lost his job when the business he and his wife owned, which sold "high-end plantation shutters," shut down last fall. For 30 years, Dittmann said, he'd lived an upper middle class lifestyle. He worked in advertising before buying the business in 2007, right before "the economy went to Hell" and the business "dropped off the face of the earth."

Now, Dittmann said, he and his wife, Stephanie, are coasting on dwindling savings and Stephanie's earnings from a part-time accounting job. They said they hadn't made a mortgage payment since February. If they lose the house to foreclosure, they might move in with Stephanie's parents, who they said have offered to take them in.

It's been impossible to land a job. "I probably responded to 200 or 300 ads and I've had one call back."

Then Dittmann said something that the HuffPost has heard from a lot of people:

"I think part of it is my age," he said. "I can't prove that but I think that's probably true. I was a business owner before. If you can hire someone in their 40s versus someone in their 50s, the person in their 40s is going to stay with you longer, and the person in their 50s is going to be more expensive because of health insurance. Everybody I've talked to that's in their 50s, looking for a job, they're getting nowhere."

It's true: Workers 45 and older comprise a disproportionate share of the long-term unemployed. But Dittmann is not feeling sorry for himself.

"In the past few months I've learned to appreciate how lucky I've been up to this point in my life, having lived an upper middle class professional lifestyle for the past 30 years," he wrote in an email. "I'm sorry to say I took it all for granted. I didn't over-extend myself, no mini-mansions, no expensive vacations, none of that... but we've always lived comfortably, without financial concerns. And even today, I'm still better off than probably 85 percent of the people on this planet, so everything is truly relative.

"Still, I can't believe I'm where I'm at today... I'm truly numb. I'm not even mad about my situation, because I'm not sure who or what to be mad at. Keeping my sanity is a priority, and I'm just thankful that we have no children to worry about."

HuffPost readers: Are you doubling up with friends or family to save money? Tell us about it -- email [e-mail].

Comments

[jaglon]

The company I worked for was sold to a much larger, very corporate, publication company. I had been the art director for 21 years. I knew something was going to happen and started setting money aside. I got nearly a years severance. I knew I did not want to do what I had been doing. I decided that a couple of part time jobs will be fine.

I am 58, look younger then my years and lucky that I have a husband who is working and I could get health benefits from. I want to focus on my art and think that a couple of part time jobs can do it until I am 62. Then I will take Social Security and work only one part time job. That is the plan anyway.

I have become very disappointed with this country. If something is not done about the social safety net this country is going to lose a lot. I predict that our influence in the world is going to decline and that may not be such a bad thing. Maybe this country will shift its focus from being such a militaristic country to one that decides to invest in its citizens. I just wish the decline would happen sooner so that we can get on with it. The problem is that we have a government that wants to maintain our military standing in the world and that costs a lot of money.

[publicv]

This story says a lot. No one truly knows why or who to be mad at. Well they know, but they can't do anything about it.

[gtt]

Who to be mad at ??!! Sure you know, you know. You have been reading the papers and the blogs. This story, and the hundreds of replies, tell scores about our financial mess and the resulting pain inflicted upon Americans. The American people know who to be mad at and that is why only 29 percent support the bums that got us into this mess. You know whom I am talking about.

[Artemis34]

Getting a job is a marketing and sales campaign and you are the product. The resume and cover letter is your copy.

And sorry folks, the marketing includes the packaging too.

Do a focus group with friends and family in their 20's and 30's and ask them to be brutally honest.

The 20-something who is screening you may not even be aware they are discriminating based on your age. They just have a gut reaction that the hair coming out of your ears, nose, chin (mostly for women) is "gross!"

And don't wear a 10 year old suit! If you don't read GQ, get the fashionista in your family to help you. They'll love it and you'll look good. Don't wear a suit at all if no one else in the business ever does. When in Rome... That is to say, you want to look the part you are going to play.

And the same fashionista will stop you wearing tube socks with your new clothes, too!

And get a good hair cut, shave your face (and shave your head if you have pattern baldness). Get some color in your face. They think you are going to d i e if you are pale.

Some agencies / recruiters are adept at screening people out based on age. That is to say that some companies are outsourcing their discrimination to third parties to insulate them from liability, so be aware.

[Artemis34]

Even if you've had a face lift they check your elbows (so wear long sleeves) and creases in your ear lobes (so cover with hair or get fillers injected).

It is tough. Many of us did not enter sales because we don't particularly thrive on constant rejection, but just think of it as a numbers game.

The more contacts you make, the higher the probability that you will land a job (make the sale).

Once you are in the door, then you will a chance to make them love you for who you really are, inside the packaging.

[MyrtleJune]

Are you even kidding? Face lifts and long sleeves? We've over 50 years of age and NOTHING to be ashamed of! We are vibrant and viable employees with more common sense and real life experience, VALUABLE experience, to offer as OURSELVES. We've got nothing to hide here!!!

No. I''m afraid it is you that needs to take a look at the value of a more experienced employee!!!

Gah.

[VonTeshyn]

A morsel of encouragement for seasoned workers…
Many job recruiters in this area are telling older job seekers—fearful of age discrimination—that many co’s actually ask to see applicants over 35, since some of the younger gen have demonstrated blasé job ethics like not showing up; not calling in to explain why they’re not coming in; sliding in late &/or still ‘enhanced’ from the previous night’s activities; conducting their personal life through the office on their employer’s dime; job hopping, & etc. Employers are fed up & want more mature workers who know the ropes & can deliver.

[Artemis34]

Yes. I asked one young person about the job and heard:

"They wanted me like a slave."

Translation: Show up 5 days a week and put in a full day's work each day!

Some of the employers have to learn the hard way that you get what you pay for!

[samjung23]

That's what happens when you give people too much at an early age. What do they expect.

[skymuffin]

Yeah, but 55? They discriminated against me when I was in my early 40's.

[KarateKid]

My attorney calls anyone over 40 "in the danger zone".

[carlgt1]

it seems that the effective retirement age for most white-collar jobs should be 50, and for jobs in the hi-tech/computer fields it should be 40!

[SecondBase]

Effective for who?

[PaiaGirl]

You are so full of it

59 year old computer programmer

[KarateKid]

Don't worry, age will catch up to that young punk.

[BigPictureReg]

It seems that you are most likely someone under 40.

Will those retirement ages remain the same when you turn 40 & 50?

[gtt]

Stupid thoughts.

[nohobear]

That sounds great carlgt1- provided you are willing to pay the taxes to support my full retirement for 30+ years based on life expectancy. Or are you suggesting that over 40's should just crawl off somewhere and die, having outlived their usefulness to society?

I'd like to chalk your ridiculousness up to youth, but I'm sorry. Even in my uninformed youth, I had empathy and sensitivity and respect for those older than myself.

[AirViceMarshalPark]

Take any job you can find of which you are physically capable, even a part time, low wage job. Grocery cashier, fast food worker, anything.

You will have slowed the bleeding a bit, you will be out in contact with the working world and you will have the opportunity to advance or find another situation more quickly.

I don't mean that you should do something that is morally or ethically repugnant to you; don't be a bartender in a strip club if that offends you.

The fast food industry, for one, has an average employee turnover of 300% per year and they are constantly hiring. The rule is that, by the time an employee is fully trained, they have quit. Managers in that industry last about two years. Anyone who just hangs around past those averages is going to get promoted. Age is never a factor in hiring decisions.

Anyone who held any kind of permanent, full time job during the Depression of the 1930s came out pretty well. They didn't get large pay raises but, every year, many things got cheaper. Houses and cars, like today, fell dramatically even though a few things went up in price.

Luck isn't a factor in finding a job today; simply being realistic and aware of how the working world has changed means everything. Think of the dramatic realities the worker of 1932 had to face compared to the worker of 1928. Some people never adapted.

[fleaba]

My suggestion is that all the unemployed start the revolution. What do you have to lose?

[larmarch5]

I'd like to hear from middle class folks who are weathering this downtime. I lived a frugal life, always paid off credit cards monthly, lived in modest homes and rentals, saved 10% several years (had to dip into the savings some years). I've had homes and investments go up and down. I only owned two new cars my entire life, all others were used. Drove one new car ten years, up to seven on the current one. I wear two rings, one a wedding ring, the other was my mother's simple turquoise ring. I buy simple, washable clothing and practical shoes and bags. I have budgeted for charity, travel, gifts, and a simple lifestyle. I went to an inexpensive in-state college using modest loans, scholarships and campus jobs (no financial help from my parents). I'm 60, semi-retired and still living frugally. Take a look at what you desire vs what you need. Teach your children well.

[zapotitlan]

i guess there is finally something to be said for having been poor all these years. never had enough money to buy a house or a new car. had to pay cash for whatever i needed....and that made my needs rather "small." not stuck with house or car payments.

now i live in mexico in a small furnished house on a large lake and my rent is substantially less than $300US a month. lacking some things, but because i could never afford them north of the border, don't really miss them. having been poor during my adult years, i know what to spend my money on and what's not really important. lots of folks NOB (north of the border) need to learn that too.

[ramal]

I should think that before long you will be seeing a good many people who are in this same situation going down to the local post office and hurling a brick through the window. I believe that is considered a Federal offense. Not the best way to go, but it probably would buy you a couple of years in minimum security Federal Prison where at least one wouldn't be on the street and health care, of some sort, would be provided.

[Polly]

I don't understand the position that because he is 55 he is a Republican - I am 60 and very much a Democrate !

[HerCabinBoy]

If that's how you spell it, you cast doubt.

[w8aminute]

I'm white, in my 50s and a Dem. Both my mother & grandmother were Dems until the day they died. Not all old white people are Repugs, just like not all Asians are good at math nor all tall people are good at basketball. we need to stop all the stereotyping.

[Polly]

I know where you are at we have a remodel business, the phone is just not ringing - no work!. We also have had a middle income and been self employed successfully for 30 years. We have never been in debt, we have paid down on our mortage to keep overhead down. These business decisions are our saving grace right now, we can keep ourselves going on savings for about a year and feel very grateful for that. But it is is truely ode in the America that we have known to just be out of work.

My advise to any who are in this position - don't give up - see your self working - see your self happy and fulfilled, be gratful for everything you have right now - Ask for what you need. Take any help offered and be grateful to those that give. STAY POSITIVE - this too will pass, learn from your experiences so you can be even better at your work and life in the future. Don't give up!!!

[bltmn]

Not to point out the obvious, but this is as good an argument as any for health care reform.

A small business struggling to survive has a perfectly valid need to minimize costs - including health care. Without a broader base over which to spread health insurance costs, small businesses have little choice but to covertly favor younger workers.

[KarateKid]

The very people (Republicans) who profess to be pro-small business are the very ones stifling the health care reform that would help small businesses.

[Lorianne]

The reform that is being proposed will hurt small businesses greatly.

[Eykis]

Or not to provide insurance.

[Lorianne]

Not an option in my state (Hawaii).

Employers are required to provide health insurance for anyone working over 20 hours per week. And insurance is expensive.

Consequently, there are a lot of people who have -20/hrs per week jobs.

[LLisaLL]

A high percentage of people do not stick with one company for 10 years or longer. This is not a hiring factor with potential employers. Also, health insurance costs are a questionable reason because employees have to pay much of the costs themselves. People in their late 40s and older simply may not have many of the skills that are needed in today's workforce. They need to re-train themselves. They also may be trying to enter the workforce now that their families need financial assistance with limited work history and experience.

[juanjo]

Sorry Lisa but this is a lot of assumption strung together as though it were fact. There is a bias towards hiring younger people. In fact I have had it in my own life. I am very good at my job and it is not one that requires anyone to be super tech savy. But I have has people tell me they wanted someone who "could grow with their client base" which is double speak for someone younger. Never mind I had worked with their client base for 20 years and knew many of the management people there personally. There is an assumption in this country that older workers are less likely to be as gung ho and compliant not to mention more expensive in terms of medical care.

[marxmarv]

The main "skill" that employers look for is submission. A business owner near retirement age typically isn't well disposed to that.

[Artemis34]

Quite.

Not only submission but pliancy.

A mature worker is more likely to have the self confidence to say "I'd rather not participate in illegal / unethical activities" which would be at odds with the normal business operating procedures on Wall Street and in the likes of Enron and Woldcom.

I had an interview with Worldcom when they bough the company for which I was working. They said I was not a "fit" with their culture.

When everything came out, I thought "Not a fit" means "Not a big fat liar!" Well, I'm glad I was "not a fit."

[lightnessandjoy]

As a former employer I can assure you the higher costs for health insurance for older workers are a significant factor in hiring decisions. If you hire an older worker, as an employer, your share of their health care premiums is much higher than for younger employees. Just one more reason to stop treating life and death in America like a little gold mine for the private sector. National health insurance NOW!

[Artemis34]

I hope you do a better cost - benefit analysis with your other purchases than you do with hiring!

It is not just what an employee costs but what they bring to the table.

If you have an "inexpensive" younger employee who brings in no revenue or worse alienates existing customers, is it a bargain? No.

I make millions for my employers. If they have half a brain between them, they can figure out that is enough to pay my health care, even private care.

But I'm with you totally on national health insurance.

Private insurance in the US is a huge economic drag on companies and means they can't compete internationally.

Private health insurance makes no business sense!

[PaiaGirl]

I'll put my programming skills after 40 years up against any younger person's. The assumption that we who are older need "retraining" is offensive and part of the mainland culture of youth which seeks to discard those who are no longer young.

You should open your eyes to other cultures which do not discard people once they are no longer part of the media-induced youth scene.

[pinkseven]

I am a 57 year old self employed electrical engineer who was forced in the last decade to go the
contract route. At my last permanent job I turned the magic 50 and I, with the rest of the 50 something engineers were out. Do not talk about the lack of skills for our group. You do not stay
in the engineer game for 30+ years if you have not kept your skills current and sharp. I worked on
the 45nm semiconductor technology. Before that the 65, 90,120 etc. etc. In reply to the former
employer's comment about health insurance: 2 of last 3 contracts were at companies staffed by
younger engineers. I have never seen such large groups of unhealthy people in one area outside of an ER in my life. You could not count on being able to talk to the engineers you needed to because they would be out that day for health reasons. The PA was used, sometimes daily, for health code alerts to get the first responders to the offices where the emergencies occurred. Yet for age reasons I would be considered a health risk and therefore unemployable. I guess commuting 12 miles a day by bicycle is a health risk.
If you are wondering about the third company - it was staffed by H1B holders. Health insurance for them was by default a non issue.

[otto88]

Mr. Dittman -- Thank you for your post and for communicating so well. You and your family are in our prayers.

I can identify with your situation.

I will turn 55 in a few weeks.. In 2006, my job of going on 20 years at a financial services company was eliminated. Since then I have applied for numerous jobs but have had just one offer which was less than half of my previous salary -- that was over a year when the economy was doing much better. We've gone through all our retirement money. My wife has a disability and is unable to work. We have a son in college and we're struggling to hold on to our home, along with other bills. It's just a starter home, the only home we've ever been in.

I am also convinced, from talking with others my age, that no one really wants to hire us. Not sure why, because we have a lot of good people skills and work habits to offer. I had one employer say, "We can't mold you." Perhaps it's also because of health insurance costs. I wish it weren't true.

Like Mr. Dittman, the whole thing does seems quite unreal.

[ForRichardorPoorer]

It happened to me in 1995. Company wanted to terminate any/all employees that was with the Bank for ten years or more. Longevity became a liability instead of an asset. I was an SVP andI 4 months away from 20 years. WIthin two years of my termination, there wasn't one officer that remained with the company with over 5 years experience. I have been, under-employed since. I am turning 54 in a few months. I am in a completely different profession.

[ForRichardorPoorer]

The Bank chairman and directors terminated us, the old timers, and replaced us with the young up-and- coming executives with the new banking ideas. Look what happened!