Set Back by Recession, and Shut Out of Rebound MICHAEL WINERIP, NYTimes MICHAEL WINERIP Published: August 26, 2013 Pic: people-who-are-out-of-work

Older Workers Have Had a Tough Time While older workers have a lower unemployment rate, if these workers lose their job, they have a harder time getting a new one. If they get a new job, they are more likely to have had to accept a big pay cut. Why do older workers have a tougher time? – Are they not worth as much? – Are they subject to more discrimination? – What is discrimination?

The Case of John Fugazzie RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — In September 2012, it appeared that the world was John Fugazzie’s frozen oyster. He was in charge of dairy and frozen foods for the A.&P. supermarket chain, making $125,000 a year. – NYTimes Monday, August 26, pervasive.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp

400 Job Applications: No Job [J]ust before his 57th birthday, he was laid off and, carrying a box of belongings from his office, driven home in a car service hired by the company. In the 10 months since, he has applied for more than 400 positions and had 10 interviews, but still has no job. [L]ast month he awoke at 4:30 a.m., sweating profusely, in the midst of a heart attack. As happens to many Americans, when he lost his job, he lost his health insurance. He now owes $171, for the six nights he spent at the hospital. pervasive.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp

Older Workers Less Likely to Be Unemployed On the statistical surface, boomers seem better off than other age groups. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for workers 55 to 64 …was 5.4 percent in July, – compared with 7.4 percent for the general population. pervasive.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp

Unemployment Highest Among Young

But Re-employment Hardest for the Old The re-employment rate for 55- to 64-year- olds is 47 percent and 24 percent for those over 65, compared with 62 percent for 20- to 54-year-olds. And finding another job takes far longer: 46 weeks for boomers, compared with 20 weeks for 16- to 24-year-olds. pervasive.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp

For Long-Term Unemployed, RE- employment Best for Prime Age Workers

Getting Back to Work Does Not Mean Getting Pack to Your Pay Grade Two-thirds in that [older] age group who found work again are making less than they did in their previous job; – their median salary loss is 18 percent compared with a 6.7 percent drop for 20- to 24-year-olds. pervasive.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp

Evaluation & Conclusion You can get most of the underlying labor economics data that show up in newspaper articles off the web. Older workers need to hang onto their jobs if they can. Economists think discrimination is not paying a worker the value of her or his marginal product. The law says discrimination is treating older workers differently. What do you think: are older workers victims of discrimination?