Unemployment Among Older Population: Challenges and Perspectives

This article discusses the issue of unemployment among the older population, which often gets marginalized. It explores the challenges faced by older workers, changing demographics, and strategies to address this issue. The changing labor market trends and the need for skill development are also highlighted.

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Unemployment
When one mentions the issue of unemployment, the primary focus is on the
unemployment issues among the youth or the younger adults. The main issue is that the topic of
unemployment among the older population often tends to get marginalized. The media and
population think in terms of the youth when it comes to employment. The masses remain divided
and tend to ignore the fact that there is a growing segment of the workforce that is aging. When
compared to the younger workers, they face more challenges and possibilities of being
unemployed for a longer period. Eventually, different perspectives develop on the issue and
have different ideas on how to deal with the problem of unemployment among the older
population. Those against carry a perspective that there is already strong competition in the job
market and the older population should retire. Strongly disagreeing audiences claim that if the
older population enters the workforce, they will take away the jobs of the younger population.
Those who support employment among the older population believe that aggregate employment
relies on, the older and more educated population. The actively supporting audience starts that as
the changing demographics in most countries will create an increasing population aged 65, it will
be essential to include the older population in the workforce. On the other hand, there are
pragmatic views on the issue that if the older population want to work, they can work but they
are not a preferred choice by the employers.
One should not ignore the changing labor market trends and changing demographics in
the next decades. There are many different factors to explain the unemployment among the older

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population such as employer strategies, societal sentiments, and public policies. Whether we like
it or not, it would be essential to keep the older population productive with training and skill
development to create equal employment opportunities for the older and unemployed workforce.
The discussion on this topic will benefit both the older and younger population as it will help
remove any biased views and help them understand the current demand for older workers who
are skilled and educated.
The changing demographics and changing labor market trends in most countries will find
an increasing population aged 65 or more in the next decades. That means a higher number of
aged population and a decreasing number of younger populations in the workforce (Billett et al.
1249). The U.S. labor force aged 55 to 64 years is expected to rise to 17% by 2024. It is
interesting to see that while the participation rates for men and women aged 55 and older have
increased in recent years, those in 45 to 54 age group have declined (Yamashita et al. 236). The
changing demographic trends will force the labor market to see how older workers can withstand
their employability so as to avert labor shortages and develop economic activities. The national
policies and practices need to be modified to encourage participation by older workers uniformly
across various sectors. One cannot ignore that fact that global population is aging rapidly and
even though the societies will rely on the older adults to create stable workforces, the older
population faces numerous challenges because of their aging, early retirement and poor health
(Schinkel-Ivy et al. 1).
According to Sahoo and Sahoo (116), unemployment is a multidimensional spectacle; as
it affects economic activity and the social structure of a country. While every policymaker thinks
of sustaining high economic growth based on monetary policies, many other factors work
behind. There is an inverse relationship between unemployment and economic growth. The labor

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force depends on adult participation, and there is a steady decline in labor force participation
during the 21st century. The economists believe that the decline is due to low-skilled workers
and loss of jobs due to automation (Sahoo and Sahoo 116). The older workers faced long
periods of unemployment following the Great Recession (Yamashita et al. 236). The
unemployment rate trends show that the decline is mainly motivated by demographic factors and
population getting older and getting more educated (Hornstein and Kudlyak 13). The labor force
participation rates are dependent on demographic aspects like age, gender, and education. The
aggregate employment trends are driven by an older and more educated population (Hornstein
and Kudlyak 15).
While some of the professions are age tolerant, the others are not. In these sectors, the
older workers are not looked as a preferred choice by the employers and are hired only
reluctantly because of the employer attitudes towards them (Billett et al. 1250). The labor force
participation trends for particular age-groups can be explained because of low educational level
and skills. The employment opportunities seek higher cognitive skills than routine manual work.
The percentage of middle-aged and older workers are increasing in the labor force segment in the
U.S (Yamashita et al. 236). Although the percentage of elderly workers has increased in recent
decades, the issue of unemployment among older workers remains a significant concern. It is not
just a challenge for the individual worker but the economy too.
Recent studies reflect that younger workers are more advantageous than older workers
because of their education and skill levels (Sahoo and Sahoo 118). After the age of 40, there is a
steady decline in returns of education. When compared to their younger counterparts, the older
workers face longer periods of unemployment after becoming unemployed. A more extended
period of unemployment is a concern in the labor market as it further depreciates the skill level

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as asserted by Yamashita et al. (236). Moreover, higher unemployment among the older
population means tremendous pressure on Social Security funds. The older employees are looked
upon as a disadvantaged group in the labor market as they are seen to be less productive and
more expensive when compared to the younger workers (Boockmann et al. 736). As a
consequence, the unemployment rate and durations are higher among older workers.
Hiring subsidies may fail to encourage additional hiring, lower net wages and can
condense unemployment durations (Boockmann et al. 734). However, the hiring subsidies are
more effective for women under specific active labor market policies and circumstances. In a
competitive labor market, a more elastic labor supply leads to a more substantial employment, in
response to the employment subsidies (Boockmann et al. 760). As the labor supply elasticities
are higher for women in the East, the impacts are higher for them. Still, the high responsiveness
of employment to subsidies relies on a mixture of reasons like labor market attachment, previous
work experience, suitable qualification, labor supply, and longer subsidy durations as stated by
Boockmann et al. (761).
There is a general view that a higher activity rate among the older population and the
higher retirement age for them can lead to unemployment among the younger working force.
Many authors limit the approach by citing the example of how a higher rate of female
participation into the U.S. labor market during 1960-2007 was not followed by a decline in
employment among men (Chybalski, and Marcinkiewicz 239). Recent studies reflect that as
there is no competition in the labor market for the same jobs, any professional activity in older
cohorts cannot negate the employment chances among the younger lot. The share of involuntary
part-time older workers has doubled in recent years, and the trend can be seen as indicative of
less productive overall economy. Moreover, one cannot ignore the negative consequences of

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involuntary part-time work as they can face low self-esteem, financial troubles, and risk of
depression (Reynolds and Wenger 100). The older workers get forced into part-time hours to
safeguard their own jobs and create more jobs for younger workers.
Education and training are the key strategies that can help address the employment-
related challenges among the senior population. In order to create a rewarding working
experience for older workers, specific skill development is required to support these workers.
The employers need to change their attitudes and strategies toward hiring the older population at
the workplace (Billett et al. 1258). A skilled labor force is essential for continued economic
growth. The labor policies should incorporate continuous training to meet the current demand for
skills and education to support the older workers in general (Yamashita et al. 246). It is essential
to strengthen the employability of older workers for not just their security but for the well-being
of the economy too.
To conclude the above discussion, it is apparent that no single reason can explain the
unemployment among the older population. Most countries are facing the challenges of changing
demographics and how to keep the older population productive. Workplaces and educational
institutions need to support older workers with specific skill development. The employers need
to change their perceptions of the value of older workers at workplaces. There is a complex
environment of employer strategies, employee attitudes, societal sentiments, and public policies.
Still, it will take lots of time and efforts to bring the appropriate transformational change. The
government should understand the demographic changes and prepare well to create more and
equal employment opportunities for the unemployed the workforce in the country, whether it is
the young or the old, based on their needs and the challenges faced by them. Education and right

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training are the starting point to make the older population productive and participative in the
labor market.

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Works Cited
Billett, Stephen, et al. "Overcoming the Paradox of Employers' Views about Older Workers."
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 22, no. 6, 2011, pp.
1248-1261.
Boockmann, et al. “Do Hiring Subsidies Reduce Unemployment among Older Workers?
Evidence from Natural Experiments.” Journal of the European Economic Association,
vol. 10, no. 4, 2012, p. 735.
Chybalski, Filip, and Edyta Marcinkiewicz. “Does the Professional Activity of Older Workers
Contribute to Youth Unemployment? A Cross-Section Study of European Countries.”
Business and Economic Horizons, no. 4, 2014, p. 238.
Hornstein, Andreas, and Marianna Kudlyak. “Aggregate Labor Force Participation and
Unemployment and Demographic Trends.” Working Papers Series (Federal Reserve
Bank of Richmond), vol. 19, no. 8, Mar. 2019, pp. 1–36.
Reynolds, J., and J. B. Wenger. “Prelude to a RIF: Older Workers, Part-Time Hours, and
Unemployment.” Journal of Aging & Social Policy, vol. 22, no. 2, Jan. 2010, pp. 99–116.
Sahoo, Malayaranjan, and Jayantee Sahoo. “The Relationship between Unemployment and Some
Macroeconomic Variables: Empirical Evidence from India.” Theoretical & Applied
Economics, vol. 26, no. 1, Spring 2019, pp. 115–128.

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Schinkel-Ivy, Alison et al. “Factors Contributing to Unexpected Retirement and Unemployment
in Adults Over 50 Years Old in Ireland.” Gerontology & geriatric medicine vol. 3, no. 1,
2017, pp. 1-8.
Yamashita et al. “Adult Competencies and Employment Outcomes Among Older Workers in the
United States: An Analysis of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult
Competencies.” Adult Education Quarterly, vol. 68, no. 3, Aug. 2018, pp. 235–250.