Dilip Saraf suggests us the old folk shouldn’t panic at the layoff notice:
What drives this mindset [of being unemployable when laid off after age 50] is some myth around job losses that occurred during the past several decades, mostly from the manufacturing sector. Conventional wisdom holds that the new economy is an inhospitable place for workers in their 50s or 60s, with full or part-time gigs flipping burgers or as Wal-Mart greeters or worse, are the only avenues available to them. In a recent Wall-Street Journal article Ann Tergesen reports it’s never been better to be an older worker looking for a job. Why? The numbers show that the nightmare scenario simply isn’t true. The 55-and-older demographic is actually the only age group with a rising labor-force participation rate, Ann reports. Not only that, but more than 60 percent of workers age 65 or older have full-time positions, up from 44 percent in 1995. These older workers are increasingly working in well-paid, highly skilled jobs in the professional services industry. They are helped by the overall shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, which has created more jobs in which cognitive skills matter more than physical ability.
Suggesting that the wisdom of the ages has some value after all? While keeping in mind Heinlein’s dictum that age is only guaranteed to bring wrinkles, it’s a nice thought. But in professions which rapidly transform, mental fatigue can set in, resulting in the youth being favored in job interviews.
