U.S. companies were once reluctant to lose their most seasoned workers—but no more. A portrait of the nation’s workforce during the recession shows that older Americans are losing their jobs at a faster pace than other workers and are taking longer to find new ones.

The unemployment rate for workers age 55 or older hit an all-time high of 6.7 percent in May, a level 116 percent higher than at the start of the economic downturn in December 2007, according to an AARP analysis of the latest government employment data. The jobless rate for younger workers also grew precipitously over the same period—63 percent among those ages 16 to 24, and 110 percent for workers 25 to 54.

Among all workers, the unemployment rate climbed to 9.4 percent in May, more than double the 4.5 percent reported in December 2007. An estimated 15 million people are without work.

President Obama said Monday that he expected his economic stimulus plan to save or create 600,000 jobs this summer as the federal government spends billions to expand care at health centers, hire teachers, fix up national parks and improve military facilities. But even as the president touted jobs created by the stimulus bill, he acknowledged that “we’re still in the middle of a very deep recession” and “it’s going to take a considerable amount of time for us to pull out.”

That means people seeking work may be at it for a long time to come. Sara Rix, a strategic policy adviser for the Public Policy Institute at AARP, says the unemployment rate for older adults is lower than the overall jobless rate, but that older workers stay out of the workforce longer.

“They’re less likely to find work,” she says, “and more likely to drop out of the labor force.”

On average, it took older workers nearly seven months to find a job in May, while those under age 55 found work within about five months, Rix says. In all of 2008, it took older people an average of about five months—three weeks more than their younger counterparts—to find work.

That’s part of the reason that more people are filing for early Social Security benefits. Between October and May, the number of filings is 25 percent higher than during the same period a year ago, the administration says. Unemployment, dwindling home equity and stock market losses have contributed to the trend.

Younger workers may have an easier time landing work, but according to a study about to be released, employers are finding that older workers are more engaged in their jobs.

Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College, says researchers analyzed engagement levels among employees of all age groups at the onset of the downturn, and again more recently. She says the findings show that older workers are a “value proposition” for employers.

“If you compare employees by age group and look at the changes before and during the downturn, the younger workers’ level of engagement dropped more significantly the younger they were. Older workers retained the same level of engagement,” she says, adding that studies have shown that engagement in general goes up with age. “Older workers may be bringing to the workforce experience and resilience.”

The recession has taken a toll on younger and older workers alike, but last month, men seemed to fare worse than women, according to the federal data released Friday. The unemployment rate for men rose to 9.8 percent in May, compared with 7.5 percent for women. The gap is larger than at any time since 1948.

Although the total of 345,000 jobs shed in May was lower than in previous months, the industries that dropped the most positions were those that tend to employ a higher concentration of older adults. Professional and business services lost 51,000 jobs, retail sales eliminated 18,000 jobs and financial services lost 30,000 positions. On the flip side, jobs in the health care field grew by 24,000.

Vast state and local budget cuts have also disproportionately affected older workers, says John Challenger, chief executive at Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a consulting firm in Chicago. He says the job market is likely to remain weak for the rest of the year, so it’s vital that older workers impress hiring managers during interviews.

“Stress that you have real know-how and an understanding of how to do the job,” he says. “Show that you’ve done it. Have more real-world anecdotes, and stress that you can handle multiple jobs. Counteract some of the stereotypes—come across with a lot of energy and engagement. Make sure everyone knows your achievements.”

It’s harder to find work in some states than others. Not surprisingly, Michigan had the highest jobless rate at 12.9 percent, thanks to the embattled automotive industry. But the unemployment rate was not far behind in Oregon, at 12 percent, and in South Carolina, at 11.5 percent.

Ken LeVasseur, a senior economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, says that because both Oregon and South Carolina enjoyed higher-than-average population growth over the years, “if the [labor force] demand is not there, it translates to higher unemployment.”

Older workers seeking information on jobs, training and money management can visit AARP’s new Real Relief site.

Carole Fleck is a senior editor at the AARP Bulletin.