‘I became invisible when I turned 60’: The hidden crisis of late-career unemployment

Career manager Colleen Paulson has heard from hundreds of professionals property 50 oregon older struggling to onshore a occupation implicit the past 2 years. 

"I person 35-plus years' acquisition and I can't find a occupation that pays implicit $20 an hour," 1 told her successful a LinkedIn message.

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"Was a finalist 5 times successful my past hunt 5 years agone and was passed implicit due to the fact that I was successful my 50s," said another.

One occupation seeker enactment it bluntly: "I became invisible erstwhile I turned 60."

Paulson, laminitis of the career-coaching tract Ageless Careers, said she's seeing the occupation marketplace for older professionals proceed to deteriorate, arsenic clients progressively mention ageism arsenic a obstruction to getting an connection letter. Companies are cutting costs by hiring younger workers with little experience, she said, portion older workers with decades of acquisition are rejected from the aforesaid roles and forced to dip into status savings early.

"I'm seeing truthful galore GoFundMes connected LinkedIn for radical that are losing everything aft an extended occupation search," Paulson said. "It's heartbreaking, honestly."

Labor-market information bespeak the trend, arsenic 38% of unemployed workers 55 and older person gone without a occupation for 27 weeks oregon longer, compared to astir 16% of workers ages 16 to 54, according to AARP.

Whether by prime oregon due to the fact that they've yet had it with the brutal hiring landscape, immoderate are leaving the workforce completely. The labor-force information complaint for workers property 55 and implicit has been falling steeply since 2020, present sitting astatine 37%, portion the aforesaid complaint for workers ages 25 to 54 continues to hover astir historical highs.

MarketWatch spoke with respective occupation seekers implicit the property of 55 who declined to stock their afloat names, retired of fearfulness it would wounded their employment prospects. Several said they're considering retiring early, adjacent though they don't privation to oregon consciousness similar they can't spend to. One 59-year-old with 34 years of acquisition successful the financial-services assemblage has been occupation hunting for 17 months, to nary avail. A supply-chain adept said she chopped 15 years of acquisition disconnected her resume to look younger. She and her husband, who is besides unemployed aft being laid disconnected 2 years ago, person had to downsize their location and propulsion from status savings to enactment afloat.