Unemployed Men Struggle in Dating Game

"You learn to keep things simple when you're not working as much as you would like to be," he said. "Generally women have been OK with that."

Simple has its limits, though.

Melissa Braverman, who blogs about dating, said she knows someone who was asked out on a walking date and considered it a turnoff. And in the last six months, she's noticed that men don't suggest meals. When they meet for drinks, they limit it to one hour. She believes it's so she won't order a second drink.

"The recession is almost becoming an excuse," said Braverman, 35, of New York City. "Men don't want to take the initiative, suggesting something fun that is inexpensive. It's more well, 'I can't afford to take you out for a meal, let's keep it brief.' Unfortunately, a lot of times chemistry needs time to develop."

Schwartz said unemployed men need to keep a positive attitude and show potential mates that they are stable: "`I don't have a job but I'm doing everything I can to find one. I own my own house.'"

Being too cheap can be a turnoff for women like Virginia Wall, 40, who works in retail sales in Philadelphia. She doesn't believe in coffee or drinks as a first date and expects the man to pay.

If he can't afford to take her to lunch -- nothing fancy, just a casual place to sit and get to know each other over a sandwich -- then he probably shouldn't be dating, she said.

"He shouldn't bring someone in his life if he can barely take care of himself," she said.

Sit out of the dating game, though, and you may miss out on the love of your life.

Christopher Floyd, 39, a photographer and video producer in Albuquerque, N.M., almost stopped communicating with a woman he met on eHarmony late last year because of his financial situation. His business has decreased 65 percent and he is trying to do a short sale on his home.

But his potential love match, Angela Sowers, 31, who works in human resources in Sacramento, Calif., persuaded him to give the relationship a shot. She flew out with friends to meet him and the two hit it off.

Floyd is moving to Sacramento next week and will live with her parents, so the two can date locally.

Sowers, who has had to foot the bill for a few plane tickets, said she isn't too worried about his lack of income. She's hoping he can get his business going in Sacramento.

"The relationship isn't based on how much money he makes," she said. "It's who he is and what's in his heart that matters to me."