PST-July-09-Work-and-Generation-Gap.zip

Historical Context - The Great Recession: This survey was fielded at a peak of economic turmoil. The U.S. unemployment rate was soaring toward 10%, and the housing and financial markets had collapsed. This crisis forced many retirees back to work and left younger generations (Gen X and Millennials) facing a brutally difficult job market, creating a unique and tense dynamic across generations in the workforce.

Key Topics Explored:

Intergenerational Conflict: Perceptions of competition between older and younger workers for scarce jobs.

Delayed Retirement: The economic necessity for older Americans to postpone retirement, and the broader societal impact of this trend.

Age Discrimination: Views on whether age was an advantage or disadvantage in the 2009 job market.

Economic Optimism/Pessimism: Differing outlooks on financial recovery and opportunity across age cohorts.

The "New Normal": How attitudes toward job security, career mobility, and benefits were being reshaped by the recession.

Significance: This study provides a crucial snapshot of the social and demographic upheaval caused by the Great Recession. It is essential for understanding the long-term economic scars on younger generations and the dramatic shift in retirement patterns for older Americans that continues to impact the labor market today.

Access: The full report, summary of findings, and related data can be found in the archives of the Pew Research Center's website, typically under the "Social & Demographic Trends" section. Searching for "July 2009 Generation Gap" or "Work and Recession 2009" should yield the correct results.