Everyone wants to get a good job and make a lot of money. But for a lot of prime age workers, getting a good job is just a pipe dream. The men and women in our society who are at the perfect age to start soaring in their careers have been curtailed by the recent recession. According to the Washington Post, the proportion of Americans in their prime working years that have jobs is smaller than it has ever been. For the past 23 years before the recession, a vast majority of prime age workers could get the jobs they needed, but not anymore. Federal statistics show that this recession has had a lasting effect on America's economic prospects.

Right now, 75.7 percent of the men and women in the prime age range for working have jobs. This is better than what the percentage was at the downturn's lowest point. Yet before the recession about 80 percent of all prime age workers were able to find work. The prime age for workers hovers at 25-54. During these years, men and women should be building their careers and saving for retirement. Yet the numbers show that almost a quarter of the population is on the sidelines. The Washington Post informs readers that people will sometimes come up with different employment statistics, but the ones provided here are the most accurate. A lot of times people will omit or add the men and women who have given up on looking for jobs from the statistics.

Graphs show that the sharpest decline in jobs has been for men who are at the right age to be working. The percentage of prime age employed men is lower now than it has ever been at almost any time before the recession occurred. The last time that the employment dipped this far down was during 1948. The percentage of prime-aged women who should be working and are not at the moment is the lowest that it has been since 1988. According to one source, the employment rate is at 8.1 percent, but if the statisticians who arrived at the figure tallied up the people who have given up looking for jobs, then the rate would become higher.

Some people are so discouraged by the lack of employment opportunities in the US that they have just stopped trying. In fact, the unemployment rate recently dropped from 8.2 percent to 8.1 percent. While this looks like an improvement, a closer look shows that much of that change was the result of people who just stopped looking for jobs altogether. One analyst estimates that about 4 million Americans have given up on finding a career. 83 percent of Americans who were polled for a survey said that they believe the economy is poor or "not so good."

The job market is sparse and employers are picky. One woman who has struggled with keeping her job says that she has lost two positions to budget cuts since the recession began. She is now working for a lower salary at a sprinkler company. Because there is less income coming in, more and more people are unable to afford the expenses of life. They run up their balances on their credit cards and fall into debt while they try to make due. If too many debts accumulate, you may find yourself in a terrible financial position. The best thing to do in a lot of dangerous debt situations is file for bankruptcy. It's not as scary as you think, and you may be able to emerge debt free. Look into bankruptcy by contacting a bankruptcy lawyer today for more information.