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Full Employment is Here … Well, It Sure Does Not Feel Like It.

Full employment well maybe
Copyright: lightwise / 123RF Stock Photo

All of the data that is being published says we are at full employment. With unemployment rates below 4%, we should all be feeling pretty good.

Why then does it not feel that way? I speak at job clubs every few months and try to attend them on a semi-regular basis. The faces I see are well… old. Some of that is because these people are part of the long-term unemployed. Being unemployed over 26 weeks is a real drag on your health.

According to the AARP Public Policy’s Employment Data Digest, the numbers are pretty good. The unemployment rate for those over 55 years of age is only 3.2%.  This is based on those who are either working or looking for work. The employment rate (sometimes called the employment-to-population ratio) refers to the proportion of the civilian non-institutional population that is employed is only 38.7% which is one percent higher than it was in December of 2007. This includes a lot of people who have retired.

This is not so bad, right? We are at full employment, right?

Why does it not feel right?

Where not to be Old and Unemployed

I live in Austin Texas, where the unemployment rate is under 3%. Wow, that is great.., right? Well not if you are over 50 years of age. The unemployment rate if you are over 50 exceeds 12%.

Back in 2015, The Atlantic published the article Where Not to Be Old and Jobless which listed Austin as the #4 worst place to be old and unemployed.

AARP has funded a program at Austin Community College called Back to Work 50+. This program targets the most vulnerable members of the community, primarily women, who if they do not find work will likely become impoverished.

I was at my breakfast club a few months back where we had a prominent speaker say, in Austin, if you want a job you can have a job.

If we are at full employment, why do we need such a program like Back to Work 50+?

Repurpose Your Career Podcast

Listen to the most recent episode

Retired Because You Want to or Have to?

I know a fair number of people who have retired before the age of 65 but they are mostly retiring from government jobs.

I also know some people who have retired because of health reasons, either their own or their spouses.

Then there are those of you who have given up looking for a job, took your social security early and checked out. We know that 40% of people who initiate social security do so at the age of 62. Only 7% wait to take social security until the maximum age of 70. Since you are no longer actively looking for work, you are labeled as retired. If you have retired you will not count in the calculations for the unemployment rate.

I do not know this as a fact but it is my feeling that many of you fall into the last 2 categories, retired for health reasons or because you can no longer find work.

Remember, we are at full employment … right? Everyone who wants a job has a job… right?

Is It a Skills Issue?

There is no question that we have a skills mismatch in the market. We are seeing creative destruction accelerate through so many industries. This is eliminating positions where skills were acquired and honed over many years. I wrote about a couple of clients in the post Living in a “Career Disaster Area” at the Age of 65 where their worlds disappeared in less than 5 years. You will also find this post on Forbes.com. 

You might be saying to yourself, I will refresh my skill set and make myself viable again. There are so many ways to acquire new knowledge and skills. There are many inexpensive and free online educational websites where you acquire the knowledge and skills in the latest technologies and industries.

Once you acquire those new skills, will any consider you for employment? I have lots of examples from the Career Pivot Online Community (which is currently in beta), where members have acquired skills in the latest programming technologies and data science and still cannot get hiring managers to speak with them.

Hiring managers do not want to invest in the careers for people in the 2nd half of life. The way I have heard this expressed in the past is, “they do not have enough career runway”.

When we are at full employment should we be worried about having enough ‘career runway?’

Adapt or Be Left Behind

Marti Konstant, author of Activate Your Agile Career: How Responding to Change Will Inspire Your Life’s Work, who was on episode 82 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast said it best, adapt or be left behind.

You have a choice, you can plan for the future that will be significantly different than today or be left behind. It is a choice!

There are several members in the Career Pivot online community who are working to get ahead of the change. They are taking bold action to put them in a position to be ready for the change.

A classic story of change is Mike Martin who is now a drone pilot instructor. You can hear Mike’s story, which is an extraordinary one on the “Repurpose Your Career” podcast episode #24. When Mike started down his journey to becoming a drone pilot instructor that career path did not exist.

Many of us will want or need to work into our 70s. Working in our 70s will not look like working in our 50s. It will most likely be a combination of different types of jobs.

Does It Feel Like Full Employment to You?

I wrote this post because this employment scene does not feel right.

I would like to get your perspective. If you would be so kind to comment below I would really appreciate it.

Am I smoking something or are the numbers not telling the complete story?

Marc Miller  

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Comments

  1. Pam says

    I can totally relate to your post, Marc. Unemployment rates are very deceptive for us over 50 people. As you said, no employer wants to hire someone closer to retirement than not. Especially, for someone who wants to go into a new field with a lot of demand. I really thought my retraining along with my previous skills and experience would be a shoe-in for current market. I had no idea age was going to be such a detriment.

    I guess you have to be super creative, lucky or try the small business route. I think there is a huge need for apprentice/intern programs for the over 50 population. Many cannot stop working or live on retirement-type jobs. I still want to work, use my brain and get back into some kind of professional/decent paying role.

    I hope my desire/perseverance (and a little desperation) bridges me to my next career/role.

    • Pam,
      I spent a significant amount of time looking for official data that tells explains why it just does not feel like full employment. I found nothing.

      As I explain in the post there are signs that like data from our own Texas Workforce Commission that we have a very high unemployment rate for those over 50 but it is deeply buried and hidden.

      Marc

      • Susan Taylor says

        Marc,
        Downsized 20 years ago, never to find meaningful work again, I’d say it is much worse out there for people even over 40. That is when I first encountered age discrimination. Now age 60, I live in poverty, eat with food stamps and use Medicaid for health insurance. I go to the local dental school, Planned Parenthood and other low-cost community clinics for all my healthcare needs. To stay afloat and keep my modest home, I do a combination of things. I take low-wage, demeaning jobs because they are the only ones I am offered. No benefits, no future. I keep my hours to 30 since they are usually labour intensive. I rent my 3 spare bedrooms out on Airbnb. I also walk dogs part-time. I have a Masters in Management and was a Marketing Manager for a Fortune 1000 manufacturing company. I have over 20 years of business management, marketing and operations experience. I am technically proficient in HTML, Google Garage, website development. I have mastered all proprietary software programs for the various jobs I’ve held. I also got my real estate license and passed on the first try at age 59. I type 230 wpm with a 3% error rate. NO one will hire me except crap jobs.
        I’ve met many, many professionals here in Milwaukee bounced out of their careers in middle age, never to return.

  2. Kathy Lansford says

    You are absolutely on target. The stats paint a rosy picture not always shared by the older job seeker. I work with the Back to Work 50+ program and am stunned by the Austin talent that I see in each cohort. Currently, our participants include a Director of Business Development and Corporate Strategy, a Sr Global Marketing Manager, a Data Analyst, a HW/SW Program Manager, a Health Care Consultant, some executive assistants, and some incredible Customer Service Representatives. Many have already been looking for over six months. Their time of unemployment tends to be longer. This age group desperately needs jobs that provide benefits. Some find that state employment is their only option. In the private sector, the first screening interview is often conducted by a young HR person who fails to appreciate the long-held skill set and recent training of the mature worker.

    • Kathy,

      Thank you for commenting. You are right in the trenches with these folks.

      Health care benefits have become critical, which is one reason we are moving to Mexico, for better health insurance and health care. If you are over 60, you really need the health insurance to cover your butt financially. For those of us who are self-employed, it has become an enormous burden.

      Marc

  3. Dale Paulson, PH.D. says

    Hi Marc,

    I really liked this article. It does indicate that, statistically, the odds are stacked against those who are over fifty. There is one point that I wish to submit. Successful job hunting is a matter of finding one person who is favorably disposed to you. Attitude and soft shills are still critical. I have developed something called the Job Hunter’s Edge that certifies positive workplace attitudes. This is presented during the job interview. I’ve had a few people offer to send the report in order to get the interview. You may or may not consider this relevant, but is has shown to increase one’s batting average. Thanks Dale

  5. David R says

    When you’re victim of age discrimination, there’s not a darn thing you can do about it, because it’s so hard to prove. I retooled but it hasn’t done a thing to improve the discrimination. It really is quite pathetic!!

  6. Doretta Hegg says

    Very good article! Lots of validity to what you state. I was told once “we have to give the young ones a chance” when asking for more opportunities where I work. It’s too bad the “more mature worker” has become a throw-away commodity in this country.

  7. There is another aspect to this, it is called structural unemployment, where your location is not where your skills can be employed. I have had this situation for a few years now and I just turned 50 this year.

    My wife workes a very good job but it is located in a community just a bit too far from a major city where my skills would be in high demand. At my age try and do telecommute…good luck with that, every job I have interviewed for wants to see the whites of my eyes, mostly because they are traditional jobs, not tech, and I can’t get considered for those tech jobs due to my age.

    My wife’s job though secure, cannot move. Moving to make my career would break my wife’s career, staying keeps mine broken.

    • One of the ways we get out of recession is to move to the jobs. Since the end of the great recession, we have the lowest mobility rate on record. We simply are not moving the jobs and there are a lot of reasons for this which one of them is having a spouse who has a job that anchors you to a location.

    • I really like this idea of capturing and reporting under-employment, especially if it can be captured by age range it would provide a much better picture of things whether working part-time or full-time in an industry that is not your own, ie. an executive assistant now working full-time at a McDonalds, may not really be employed, they are maybe actively looking for something more aligned to their career track.

      I think there are too many who simply argue that any job is a good job or, ” you can always go and work at McDonald’s” Well no you actually can’t, No McDonald’s is ever going to hire the 60-year-old Sr. Account Executive as a fry cook.

      I wrote a piece on my blog where I asked the question about how squeezed our career longevity is now. We are too young and inexperienced until we are about 27-30 to get good jobs and in many cases now we are past our expiry date as young as 45 in many industries…and it seems at the other end, the higher career level you are, the harder you are likely to fall. We have a very narrow window of opportunity to get it right now.

  9. Ian Bond says

    The traditional job market will soon only be a minor opportunity for those in their 50’s and 60’s, if this is what a great job market looks like.

    Everyone is going to sharpen their skills for gig work, or become more entrepreneurial.

    My strategy is to embrace the technology changes and use my corporate experience in ecommerce. We’re building location independent income we control.

  10. Ellen says

    Hi Marc,
    Thank you for publishing this! It’s a long time coming. I’ve been unemployed for almost 6 months and I’ve started to believe that I’m just not good anymore! I just turned 63, too young for Medicare, and I don’t want to touch my savings or investments until I have to. I keep hearing that the economy has never been better and unemployment is the lowest it’s ever been! So why can’t I find a job? I’ve come way down in my salary expectations, I would just like the benefits at this point!
    Thank goodness, I FINALLY founda new job (but it’s still not confirmed)…

  11. C C says

    I have a friend in Lancaster pa she will like to find work in san Antonio tx as a care worker but she is in her early sixties. would she be able to find work in san Antonio tx. I live there for nine years my husband was station at fort Sam Houston I was unable to find any jobs and I was in my early twenties. I let her know about my experience but she thinks she will find work in an assisted living home. both of us are African American.

    • C C

      Interesting question.
      San Antonio has a huge retired military community. It is also minority-majority city as it is 70+% Hispanic.

      My gut reaction is maybe depending on the level of work she is looking for and her credentials. I do not really know because I am not in that industry but it is sure worth investigating.

  12. Maggie says

    Sounds like employers are bending over backwards in bidding wars for younger employees. At some point they will run out of options and have to start looking at older folks as viable alternatives—one would think….

    My story is my husband had a well-paying job for years, so I worked part-time and raised the kids. Worked out fine until he got laid off in the Recession (in his late 40s)—since then neither of has been fully employed at the level we were pre-Recession. We are both now mid-50s. Despite our education and experience, we are having a hard time finding good jobs. We have two teens to support also.

    I can only hope and pray the situation gets better. And take freelance jobs that have no benefits. And vote for candidates who support health insurance for all.

    • Maggie,

      I understand where you are coming from. If you are buying insurance from the ACA exchange you must be over $2K per month. Unfortunately, you are not unusual.

  13. Karen says

    Last night a 50 yr old female headlined the Super Bowl halftime show. The old rules of what middle age looks like are out the window yet the business world
    Is still stuck in dark ages. Sad that a many 50+ with superior skills are so openly discriminated against.

    • Karen,

      However, think of what that 50-year-old female has done to not look 50 years old and stay physically fit.

      You are still correct that the business world is stuck in the dark ages.

      Marc

  14. Joanna says

    Hi

    I was let go from my job due to a company reorganization in my early 60s in Austin Texas. I had major skills in my field and do not look my age. I searched diligently for more than a year. Many of the jobs Descriptions looked like they were written from my resume. Employers have become quite creative at learning ones age. One company called me into the conference room after the rounds of interviews and said in order to move forward I had to sign a document stating when I graduated from high school. I never heard from them again.

    A woman even with a degree and years of experience is in a major disadvantage. I found Austin impossible and we moved.

    You are right on track with this article.