SOURCE: WALL STREET JOUNRAL
URL:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/five-myths-about-landing-a-good-job-later-in-life-1480302842by: Anne Tergesen
There’s a stereotypical view of job opportunities for older workers, and it’s not pretty.
It goes something like this. If you’re past 50 and thinking of a career switch, forget it. The opportunities for older workers in the new economy are pretty much nonexistent. And you’re in even worse shape if you’re in your 50s or 60s and retired but want to get back into the workforce in a job that is both challenging and financially rewarding. The only spots available are low-skilled and low-paying—whether that’s burger flipper, Wal-Mart greeter or Uber driver.
Boy, have a lot of people have been misinformed.
The numbers make it clear that the nightmare scenario simply isn’t true. The 55-and-older crowd is now the only age group with a rising labor-force participation rate, even as age discrimination remains a problem for many older job seekers. Workers age 50 or older now comprise 33.4% of the U.S. labor force, up from 25% in 2002. And more than 60% of workers age 65 or older now hold full-time positions, up from 44% in 1995.
In addition, a large part of the long-term increase in employment growth has come from skilled jobs in professional-services industries, according to a 2013 academic paper. Another study found that from 1996 to 2012, just 1.4% of job seekers in their early to mid 50s landed in “old person” occupations—typically “low-paying, low-status” jobs in which older hires outnumber younger hires by at least 2 to 1.
“These are good jobs,” says Nicole Maestas, an economist and associate professor of health-care policy at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of the 2013 study. Moreover, she adds, older workers with experience and education “are competitive for these jobs, especially with their greater work experience.”
Still, the myths persist despite all the evidence to the contrary. Here are five prevalent misconceptions about working in later life—along with recent research that dispels those misconceptions.
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST ( AND A LIST OF THE MYTHS )
