Even those who do find new jobs don’t return to their earlier income levels, Mr. Johnson said. “You’d be lucky to get half as much as you were making — it’s a big hit at any age, but it’s so much worse when you’re older because you have so little time to recoup those losses. There’s not much time to reset your retirement planning before you stop working.”

Ms. Parker and her husband, Mike, a technician specializing in small engine repair who also lost his job late last year, had hoped to retire on their retirement account savings and Social Security, but the couple has been forced to tap those savings sooner than expected, along with some money Ms. Parker inherited from her mother. Some of the I.R.A. drawdowns occurred before she turned age 59½, but those came from a Roth account, so she was able to avoid paying early withdrawal penalties.

Ms. Parker thinks her savings will last until she turns 80, but isn’t completely sure, she said.

“This is a topic that makes me really uncomfortable, so I am not studying when we start circling the drain on a very frequent basis,” she said.

At this point, Ms. Parker is seeking full-time work and hoping to postpone filing for Social Security until her full retirement age of 66. She expects the couple’s combined Social Security benefit to provide $4,000 in monthly income.

She wants to work as long as possible, partly to support her lifelong passion for dogs — she has four bull terriers and participates in dog shows and other competitive events.

“I want to find work I enjoy and that would give me the time to show my dogs,” she said.

These days, Ms. Parker is working to develop a new career offering her marketing skills to dog-related businesses. She started a blog about dog marketing and is hoping to make a living working in that business. But she doesn’t expect her income to come close to the six figures she made earlier in her career.