Posted on 05/22/2008 10:14:54 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Too young to retire, too old to get a new job. That's how many older workers are feeling these days.
While it's not easy to land a job in this weak economy, older workers are in a particularly tough spot. Corporate downsizings are hitting this group hard, with many companies looking to shed the higher-paid positions these employees often occupy. Even worse, older job seekers are discovering the search is even rougher as many employers shy away from hiring those closer to retirement than to the start of their careers.
The downsizings come at a bad time for older workers. Not only can't they afford to retire, but many were counting on beefing up their 401(k) accounts in the years before they exit the labor force. Compounding the problem is the slumping stock market, which has left them with a deflated 401(k) cushion to draw on while looking for a new post.
"There are tons of folks out there who cannot afford to live once they've faced that involuntary layoff," said Renee Ward, founder of Seniors4Hire.org, an online community for older workers and companies looking to hire them. "And it takes them a little longer to find a suitable position."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
My favorites are the “running out of food” ones.
1) NOT a “weak” economy!
2)Move...find a job somewhere else ....My company LIKES older workers and hires them first.
People are stupid. You can’t rely on someone else to take care of you. You’ve got to always look out and plan ahead and do your best to take care of yourself. Don’t rely on anyone—except YOURSELF!
I have not seen a company in a long time that will hire experience over cheap. They may get a subcontractor that way, but not a full time employee.
Because more and more jobs are going overseas and more and more Americans are being tossed out of work as a result.
There is SO MUCH MORE to this story. I wish reporters would do their jobs.
He is 56 and has been working in the high tech field for, what, 30 years and has ZERO savings? His house is going into foreclosure???? WTF? Did you HELOC it to death and live way above your means??? Was your house an ATM for granite countertops, a Lexus and trips to Europe? It used to be at age 56 you had your house paid off with a 30 year mortgage.
Three words: Health care costs.
No one can afford to pay $20,000+ per year in health care for these people.
And it's only going to get worse as the great bubble of Caucasian baby boomers starts moving into retirement circa 2020.
At that point, the USA will simply collapse like a deck of cards because of all the demographic dead weight in this country.
>> many were counting on beefing up their 401(k) accounts in the years before they exit the labor force
... another way of saying they weren’t diligent about saving for retirement, putting it off until... when? Hint: putting saving for retirement off until after the layoff is a REALLY BAD idea.
What about the articles I have read over the past year or two that discuss the labor shortage to come (due to simple demographics)? Not just in the US, but Europe, China, Japan... doesn’t square with this article.
It may be true that fifty-somethings who wedged themselves into “comfortable” jobs and forgot to keep up with skills and so forth won’t be able to get the same high-paying high-benefits job they once had. But IMO there’s plenty of work to go around.
DISCLOSURE: I’m fifty-something and, technically, out of a job (I’m trying to get a startup off the ground). My salary is essentially zero right now; my benefits are whatever I buy myself (you bet your bippy I’ve got health insurance). It’s risky, yes, but I have planned for it.
I have a relative that works for Merck and has been there quite a few years. She’s one of the 1,500 or so that are getting their pink slips-she is getting let go today in fact. They are getting rid of a lot of the people that have been there the longest and make the most money.
>> They may get a subcontractor that way, but not a full time employee.
So... bend with the times! Work as a contractor.
Yep. It’s election time - pessimist season.
Before you go down that road.....take a look at how much disability costs for a 20-25 year old and then see how much it costs for someone over 40. Companies don’t want to pay the extra costs. It may cost them $1000.00 a year for the younger person and $10,000-$20,000 a year for the older person. That is why the age discrimination laws that don’t work for insurance companies. Now look at companies that have large numbers of employees over 40. If you have over, say, 500 employees over 40 figure out how much a company can save by laying them off. I come up with $5 million in savings.
And in New Orleans, Katrina is still blowing down the levees.
“My company LIKES older workers and hires them first.”
Us too! Article is total bull
I think vyou could add: “Bush and Cheney are still blowing UP the levees!”.
Well, companies making people “bend with the times” is what is going to usher in all kinds of socialism. The way things are heading is going to get bad, I’m afraid.
Jobs are for young people. By the time you are 54 you should be ready to run your own small business. I have worked for myself since I was 26. I didn’t make much money for quite a while, but things worked out eventually.
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