869 Older Workers Will Lose Jobs Program in Oregon

[grasswire]

Experience Works, a federally funded job training program for older workers, last year helped a sliver of this group — about 870 Oregonians. But there are 36,000 other unemployed workers aged 55 to 99 in Oregon. Now this program — which grew out of President Lyndon Johnson’s War On Poverty — is facing severe cuts.

Congress — in its drive to reduce the deficit — clipped the employment program by 45 percent, effective July 1.

What this means in Lane County is that there will be 50 unemployed seniors each year who would have benefited previously but who will be left in the lurch, according to Experience Works.

“These are people who thought they’d be OK who are no longer OK,” said Mary Miller, the program’s Oregon director. “There’s no safety net for those people. If you’re out of a job, you’re out of income.”

When older workers lose their jobs, it takes them longer than any other age group to get back to work — more than a year, on average, compared with a little over three months for all workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.



http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20110703/NEWS0107/107030396/

Way to Go, Congress!!!!!

[jimmyflint]

1. That's sad. I would rather keep this sort of thing,

and end our wars or the WOD.

[gateley]

2. I think we all would. And honestly, we'd save WAY more money!