In the past seven months, Baltimore City's three career centers have seen a somewhat more modest 17 percent rise in the number of 55-plus visitors compared with the same period a year earlier. That includes a bump in the 65-and-over demographic.
Not only can the loss of a job hurt an older person's ability to pay today's bills and plan for tomorrow's retirement, but it can also take away private health insurance. Medicare kicks in at 65, though its coverage can be a step down for some.
"When you see unemployment numbers rise, it's a triple whammy - it's income, it's lifelong financial security and it's health care," said Joseph DeMattos Jr., senior state director in Maryland for AARP, which represents people age 50 and older.
Moreover, rejoining the labor force can be harder for older people, who often encounter subtle age bias.
"It tends to take them longer to find a new job after they're laid off than it does younger workers," Johnson said. "When older workers find a new job, they tend to experience a pretty sharp decline in wages."
The nation's work force has been graying for years. Last year, people 65 or older accounted for 4.1 percent of all workers, many in the hard-hit retail sector, up from 2.8 percent a decade earlier.
The reasons for the shift include longer average life span, changing societal views and a greater appreciation for "mature" workers' loyalty and experience.
The flip side, experts say, is that economic necessity is forcing many to stay on the job well into their 60s and beyond, causing considerable stress when those jobs are eliminated.
Elsie Brown has been desperate to restore her income level since being laid off July 31 by Zurich, an insurance company. With her 64th birthday around the corner and bills piling up, she said, "I don't even know which way to go."
The Northeast Baltimore resident said her household finances have grown increasingly precarious. "Do I pay my utilities, or do I eat? It's a tossup."
Brown spent five years at Zurich, calculating insurance premiums. Her husband gets disability payments, but the couple relied on her income, which enabled her to start digging out of a bankruptcy filing by paying $350 per month.
She has been drawing just $380 a week in benefits while conducting a job search she likens to "running up against a closed door."
