A Rutgers University study indicates that only seven percent of American workers surveyed believe they have recovered from the recession. Thirty-six percent felt that that they have experienced a major setback that has left them in financially poor shape.
The Rutgers study reveals that most Americans have experienced some kind of financial loss that has downgraded their standard of living during the recession. According to the study, which took place over two years, Americans with a high school education, men, and older workers believe they have suffered the most loss.
The study and other reports paint a continuing bleak picture of the long lasting effects in New York due to the recession and slow recovery in the state.
Over the past several weeks, The Brooklyn Ink profiled Brooklyn residents who each talked about how their lives changed after becoming unemployed. They are the stories behind the numbers and percentages used to show the city’s fluctuating labor statistics since the recession began.
The Unemployed in Brooklyn series examined Brooklyn’s middle class. And, like many across Brooklyn and the rest of the city, the uncertain financial circumstances of each of these residents leave some of them teetering dangerously close to edge, maybe months away from altogether losing the middle-class life they once comfortably had.
The Fiscal Policy Institute reports that more than 500,000 employment opportunities have been lost in New York since 2008. The report combines jobs that existed and were lost with jobs would have been created in a normal economy. The city lost 120,000 middle- and high-wage jobs.
Put another way, New Yorkers have lost $31 billion in earnings on an annual basis during the recession.
The report paints a bleaker picture for New York City residents hovering near the poverty line. Forty percent of the city’s population is either poor or near poor, which means that these residents earn an income that’s either close to or below $22,314, which is the old federal Supplemental Poverty Measure for a four-person family. Families that are near poor is a household income that is between 100 and 200 percent of the poverty line.
Employment will likely improve during the upcoming holiday period with many temporary jobs created to handle the rush of tourists and retail shopping in the city, but under-employment—people working less than full time—stands at 14.3 percent.
These statistics are all too familiar in Brooklyn and the rest of the city.
The Brooklyn Ink’s unemployment project gave a glimpse of how men may deal with job loss. The Fiscal Policy Institute’s study showed that 9.8 percent of New York City’s male population is unemployed compared to 7.8 percent for females.
All of the men interviewed – Lance, Michael, Bernard, and Rick – rely on supplemental income, whether from their significant other or from government assistance. This has been especially difficult for Bernard, who spoke of his unemployment as “a guilty feeling for a man. I feel the need to pay a bill.” His wife is the family breadwinner.
Women have fared better than men during the recession but not without obstacles. The women interviewed, Grace and Nika, lack the qualifications that would help them find a job in a competitive market. In Nika’s case, family commitments like a tough child custody battle complicates her job search.
Most of the profiled Brooklynites had college degrees and established careers before they became unemployed. But they didn’t have youth on their side, and some felt that being over 50 put them at a disadvantage in the job market.
When the Fiscal Policy Institute reported in July that older workers face rising unemployment rates compared to recent graduates, four of the unemployed Brooklynites who are over the age of 50 already knew this because of their personal struggle with the job hunt. The report also stated that the under-employment rate for older workers rose from 9.7 percent to 13.4 percent since the economy started to recover after 2009.
Simply put, these statistics and the profiles both suggest that older unemployed Brooklyn residents will continue to face problems looking for jobs, even for jobs that they are over-qualified for.
But there are budding signs of economic recovery in Brooklyn. Expansive development projects at the Altantic Yards and Coney Island are expected to create thousands of jobs in construction and retail. And Brooklyn has the largest percent gain for jobs compared to the other boroughs in the last decade.
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