Older Unemployed Women and Job Search Activity:

Abstract

Thirty unemployed female workers over the age of fifty were interviewed in order to examine the relationship between the quality of social support provided by family and friends for their job search efforts and their job search intensity. The fmdings indicate that receiving positive social support for job search activities was significantly related to job search intensity. In addition, these workers perceived the supportive messages provided by unemployed friends as more positive than the support messages provided by employed and retired family or friends. Implications of these fmdings for assessing the presence of positive social supports and for developing successful job search assistance programs for older unemployed women are discussed.