Job seekers expect to spend seven to 14 months searching for work, according to a call-in survey conducted by outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The average length of unemployment for callers was 1.14 years. However, the average was skewed higher by the 12 percent of callers -- mostly women returning to the workforce after raising a family -- who have been out of work for four or more years. For those unemployed less than a year, the average length of unemployment was 3.6 months.
Thirty-nine percent of callers identified age discrimination as the primary obstacle preventing them from finding a job. Only 14 percent of survey respondents said that the biggest obstacle to new employment is a lack of jobs in their field.
1 comment:
To those who believe that their age is a barrier to getting a job, consider these two elements...
Are you overweight - many of us do not look fit enough to do a job that demands long hours and/or a lot of travel, etc.
Any physical sign that makes them question your ability to manage yourself, whether their thoughts are discriminatory or not, is present in their minds. Are there things you can do about this?
Have you worked for the same company for several years? - many employers see long term employment at some point to be a prescription for technological and cultural stagnation. What can you do to demonstrate cultural flexibility?
Age discrimination is dependent on much more subtle aspects than just age.
Having said all of the above, at some point, there are more workers over 50 than there are in their 20s and 30s. Employers are just now developing programs for hiring and managing an over 50 workforce. It has been a long time in coming.
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