"Welcome to the NQR generation: the Not Quite Retireds. They planned. They diversified. They resigned gracefully from their careers. And now they need a job. Their numbers are exploding just as the prices of heating fuel, food, health care and gasoline hit new highs. A Wyoming newspaper reported last month that 433,000 seniors older than 65 were on the hunt for work. This is the highest level recorded since the federal government started keeping unemployment statistics in 1948. According to AARP executive Deborah Russell, people don't have money to retire anymore. A recent AARP survey revealed that "1 in 4 respondents 45 and older are planning to work much longer. One-third of them cited falling home prices and shrinking investments as the main reasons." Statistics from the National Home Price Index concur. The latest report shows a 15 percent decline in home prices - the worst drop ever cited. "Our home was our fallback position, and now that's gone," says Michael, a 51-year-old engineer who worked as an executive at Fairchild Semiconductor and Lam Research. He retired to Boise, Idaho, but has dusted off his resume and is preparing to re-enter the workforce. There was a time when we reserved nicknames for up-and-coming generations. We labeled them Baby Boomers, yuppies, DINKS (double income, no kids), X, Y and Z. But today, no generation poses a greater threat to the economy than the millions of men and women who can no longer afford that fictitious reward for a life well lived. As more and more NQRs watch their savings dwindle and hit the streets in search of "supplemental income," young people hoping to jump-start their careers find themselves up against older applicants willing to work for health benefits - or just a little something to cover their property taxes or a family vacation." - Anne Bouey from Bookmarklet