Workers over 50 report difficulty finding work, feel age is a factor
ROCKFORD (AP) — When Charlie Worboys lost his job, he feared searching for a new one at his age might be tough. Six years later, at 65, he's still looking.
Luanne Lynch, 57, was laid off three times in the past decade and previous layoffs brought jobs with a lower salary; this time she can't even get that.
They're not alone. A new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds many people over 50 reporting great difficulty finding work and feeling that their age is a factor.
After Worboys was laid off and his hunt for another teaching job was fruitless, he sought counselling positions. When those leads dried up, he applied for jobs in juvenile detention centres, in sales and elsewhere. He finally settled for part-time work, all the while still scouring online listings and sending out applications each week.
"They're looking for the younger person," he said. "They look at the number 65 and they don't bother to look behind it."
The AP-NORC Center poll found 55 per cent of those 50 and older who have sought a job in the past five years characterized their search as difficult, and 43 per cent thought employers were concerned about their age. Further, most in the poll reported finding few available jobs (69 per cent), few that paid well (63 per cent) or that offered adequate benefits (53 per cent). About a third were told they were overqualified.
Still, some companies are welcoming older workers, and 43 per cent of job seekers surveyed found a high demand for their skills and 31 per cent said there was a high demand for their experience. Once on the job, older workers were far more likely to report benefits related to their age — 60 per cent said colleagues had come to them for advice more often and 42 per cent said they felt as if they were receiving more respect in the company.
People of all ages have been frustrated by the job market and the unemployment rate for those 55 and older was 5.3 per cent in September, lower than the 7.2 per cent rate among all ages. By comparison,unemployment among those 20-24 was 12.9 per cent, and among those 25-54, 6.2 per cent.
But long-term unemployment has been rampant among the oldest job seekers. Unemployed people aged 45 to 54 were out of work 45 weeks on average, those 55 to 64 were jobless for 57 weeks and those 65 and older average 51 weeks.
Younger workers were unemployed for shorter periods of time.
Sixty-three per cent of those who searched for a job cited financial need and 19 per cent said it was because they were laid off. Far smaller numbers searched because they wanted to change careers, find a better salary or benefits, escape unhappiness at a prior job or simply get out of the house.
Lynch, of San Gabriel, Calif., hated taking a step down after the earlier layoffs, but this time only one interview has come from 70-some applications.
"It's starting at the bottom," she said. "And frankly, I'm getting too old to be starting at the bottom."
Bob Gershberg, a corporate recruiter in St. Petersburg, Fla., said unemployed people, regardless of age, have had trouble getting rehired. But he said older workers have faced an added layer of skepticism from employers.
"They'll say, 'Give me the young guy. Give me the up-and-comer. Someone with fire in the belly," he said. "But there's always been a bias against the unemployed. They say, 'If she was so good, why'd she get cut?"
Sharon Hulce, who runs a recruitment firm in Appleton, Wis., said she's found some employers are concerned that applicants in their late 50s or 60s may not stick around for the long haul.
And Kerry Hannon, who authored Great Jobs for Everyone 50-plus, said managers may be leery of a lengthy resume from someone they can't afford, salary-wise.
"They'll look at your background and just figure you'll be insulted," she said.
About 4 in 10 who have been on the job market said they felt they lacked the right skills or felt too old for the available jobs. Many reported trying to improve their skillset (20 per cent) or present themselves with a fresher resume or interview approach (15 per cent) to make themselves more marketable.
One in five respondents in the AP-NORC Center poll said they personally experienced prejudice or discrimination in the job market or at work because of their age. That doubles to 40 per cent among those who have sought a job in the last five years.
Faye Smith, 69, of Dallas, Ga., said she needed to find work after losing much of her savings in the downturn but felt the hesitance of employers when they saw the dates on her resume.
"You could tell when they found out the age," she said. "There's a change in the face and the demeanour of the person."
The AP-NORC Center survey was conducted Aug. 8 through Sept. 10 by NORC at the University of Chicago, with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It involved landline and cellphone interviews in English and Spanish with 1,024 people aged 50 and older nationwide.
