Older Workers More Likely to Face Long-Term Unemployment
Unemployed baby boomers over age 45 make up a disproportionate share of the long-term unemployed—those who have been out of work for six months or more.
Workers in this older age group were out of work for an average of 22.2 weeks in 2008, compared to an average of 16.2 weeks for younger workers, the New York Times reports. And when older workers finally do find work, they often have to take a bigger pay cut than other workers.
Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, told the Times that older workers are less likely to be fired than younger workers, but once they lose a job they have a more difficult time finding work.
While older job applicants may be experiencing discrimination in hiring, it’s difficult to prove, according to senior lawyer Laurie McCann of the AARP Litigation Foundation. Age discrimination complaints increased nearly 30 percent last year, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but most of them concerned discrimination in layoffs rather than hiring.
