no jobs for the nearly 60 crowd

[Anonymous]

Just want to say you are not alone, and you have some good advice here esp. re headhunters. DH is older than me and we have found there is a tremendous amount of age discrimination out there. Younger bosses, and I'm sad to say they are from my Gen X cohort females, seem to be very threatened by older males.

[Anonymous]

The labor market stinks right now for just about everyone. Why hire someone over 50 when there are so many qualified younger people looking for work? I got laid off for my 50th birthday and am looking as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so sorry to hear this, OP. Ageism is alive and well, unfortunately. Could you get work over the holidays, like in retail? Can you bartend? This is for the immediate needs. What are your skills?

The reality is that the two groups that are most discriminated against around here are Hispanics and seniors.

Reinvent yourself as a black woman in your 30s or a gay white guy in your 20s, and you might have a shot at a position. Otherwise you are pretty much fucked.

[Anonymous]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/suicide-and-the-economy/279961/

This is something I read and re-read often.

I'm not in the OP's shoes from a job perspective, and i'm back in grad school, but I was unemployed for a LONG time and when I finish up grad school, it isn't like a job is waiting for me so who knows how much longer i'll go unemployed.

I think unemployment will only get worse regardless of any 'recovery'.

between globalization and technology, more and more workers are being made 'useless' in the eyes of the capital class.

when I was a teenager or my early 20's, I believed in Schumpeter's creative destruction and was definitely not a luddite.

however, I think THIS time it's different. I believe that between wage pressures and tech advances, it gets harder and harder for the average worker to 'outrun' job loss.

And I think tech will eat away more and more jobs on the left end of the 'skill' curve and there will be less and less people that can outrun the 'beast' if you will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to say you are not alone, and you have some good advice here esp. re headhunters. DH is older than me and we have found there is a tremendous amount of age discrimination out there. Younger bosses, and I'm sad to say they are from my Gen X cohort females, seem to be very threatened by older males.

Is it what comes around goes around since the jobs market has always been more advantageous for men and only recently were women able to attain positions of power?

[Anonymous]

OP I understand. There are very, very few jobs that pay well for someone who is nearly 60 and not a "star" in their field. That you have your own business works against you also. At your age, only people who know you will really consider you for a good job.