6 ms·

The suddenly hot job market for workers over 50

47 points by brightsize 9y ago

virtuexru 9y ago
Ah the American Dream; continuing to work until near-death instead of enjoying life on this planet.
- sparrish 9y ago
  You're assuming they aren't enjoying working. I tried not working, it was boring. I'd rather be productive.
  - mod 9y ago
    You're assuming if you're not working, you're not productive. I have hobbies like woodworking, gardening, homesteading, camping. Many of those are productive, and I'm seldom bored. It's also okay to enjoy your work, of course.
    - the-dude 9y ago
      He is assuming if you are working, you are productive. That is the problem.
      - sparrish 9y ago
        I'm assuming that if you're getting paid, you must be producing something of value. It may not be something everyone values but somebody values what you're doing enough to pay you.
  - NeoBasilisk 9y ago
    I'm so sorry.
- virtuexru 9y ago
  Ah Hacker News, constantly downvoting people into the void for the smallest of reasons. :) Cheers.
  - dang 9y ago
    Would you please stop posting unsubstantive comments here? You've done it a lot, and we've asked you several times. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - daaaaaang 9y ago
      Regulators, we regulate any stealing of his property and we damn good too. But you can't be any geek off the street, gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn your keep!
    - tytytytytytytyt 9y ago
      You should tell that to: NeoBasilisk 3 hours ago [-] I'm so sorry. reply
- golergka 9y ago
  Productive work is the best way to enjoy life, in longterm, that I know. Why would I switch to something else while I'm still able to work? (Full disclosure: only worked in gamedev for my 11 years of professional experience).
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    Because you could be doing whatever you want to do, instead of what your boss or board of directors or CEO wants you to do. I would say that we absolutely don't need work to be happy, we need hobbies. A job can be a hobby, if you really enjoy it. But the vast majority of people don't really enjoy they work, and don't really have an option to switch to a job they would love.
readams 9y ago
This is a sign the economy is nearing full employment when previously marginalized workers are suddenly treated well. In fact we may already be at employment numbers that past what economists would call a sustainable full employment rate. We should expect higher wage growth and higher inflation in the short term.
- monksy 9y ago
  What I wonder about this: What should we make of it about the people who "are no longer in the market." The people who have been unemployed based the cut-off. Unemployment is measured in a length of time since their last position. Not the total amount of unworking people.
  - readams 9y ago
    Measures that can capture some of what you're looking for are "U-6 unemployment," which includes discouraged workers as well as those actively looking, as well as the labor force participation rate. U-6 has been showing steady improvement and nearing 30-year lows (from late 90s). Participation rates have been on a decline though for quite some time, but this includes people who don't want to or can't work. One thing we saw during the great recession is a huge increase in permanent disability applications.
- autokad 9y ago
  maybe for a bit until the fed plays economy / wage growth wack a mole by raising interest rates. one of their main decisions for raising rates is they see inflation in wage growth. call me cave man, but i think its kind of sick.
- pmoriarty 9y ago
  "This is a sign the economy is nearing full employment when previously marginalized workers are suddenly treated well." Another explanation is that jobs have become harder to fill, and that's why companies are treating previously marginalized workers well. They know if they don't they'll have a hard time finding people to replace them. Or it could just be that employers are now starting to realize the value of older, more mature, and more experienced workers. Or maybe they're rejecting ageism as discriminatory, and want to treat everyone more fairly. Attitudes towards discrimination have certainly changed greatly over time, and a lot of discriminatory activity has become much less acceptable than it once was. The explanations probably vary from company to company, from person to person, and from time to time. I'd be curious to interview hiring managers and older employees about this to get their take on it.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
justonepost 9y ago
"Many boomers facing retirement want to work because they fear they don't have enough money for retirement." - shouldn't this increase the unemployment rate?

47 points by brightsize 9y ago

virtuexru 9y ago

Ah the American Dream; continuing to work until near-death instead of enjoying life on this planet.

sparrish 9y ago
You're assuming they aren't enjoying working. I tried not working, it was boring. I'd rather be productive.
- mod 9y ago
  You're assuming if you're not working, you're not productive. I have hobbies like woodworking, gardening, homesteading, camping. Many of those are productive, and I'm seldom bored. It's also okay to enjoy your work, of course.
  - the-dude 9y ago
    He is assuming if you are working, you are productive. That is the problem.
    - sparrish 9y ago
      I'm assuming that if you're getting paid, you must be producing something of value. It may not be something everyone values but somebody values what you're doing enough to pay you.
- NeoBasilisk 9y ago
  I'm so sorry.
virtuexru 9y ago
Ah Hacker News, constantly downvoting people into the void for the smallest of reasons. :) Cheers.
- dang 9y ago
  Would you please stop posting unsubstantive comments here? You've done it a lot, and we've asked you several times. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - daaaaaang 9y ago
    Regulators, we regulate any stealing of his property and we damn good too. But you can't be any geek off the street, gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn your keep!
  - tytytytytytytyt 9y ago
    You should tell that to: NeoBasilisk 3 hours ago [-] I'm so sorry. reply
golergka 9y ago
Productive work is the best way to enjoy life, in longterm, that I know. Why would I switch to something else while I'm still able to work? (Full disclosure: only worked in gamedev for my 11 years of professional experience).
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  Because you could be doing whatever you want to do, instead of what your boss or board of directors or CEO wants you to do. I would say that we absolutely don't need work to be happy, we need hobbies. A job can be a hobby, if you really enjoy it. But the vast majority of people don't really enjoy they work, and don't really have an option to switch to a job they would love.

readams 9y ago

This is a sign the economy is nearing full employment when previously marginalized workers are suddenly treated well. In fact we may already be at employment numbers that past what economists would call a sustainable full employment rate. We should expect higher wage growth and higher inflation in the short term.

monksy 9y ago
What I wonder about this: What should we make of it about the people who "are no longer in the market." The people who have been unemployed based the cut-off. Unemployment is measured in a length of time since their last position. Not the total amount of unworking people.
- readams 9y ago
  Measures that can capture some of what you're looking for are "U-6 unemployment," which includes discouraged workers as well as those actively looking, as well as the labor force participation rate. U-6 has been showing steady improvement and nearing 30-year lows (from late 90s). Participation rates have been on a decline though for quite some time, but this includes people who don't want to or can't work. One thing we saw during the great recession is a huge increase in permanent disability applications.
autokad 9y ago
maybe for a bit until the fed plays economy / wage growth wack a mole by raising interest rates. one of their main decisions for raising rates is they see inflation in wage growth. call me cave man, but i think its kind of sick.
pmoriarty 9y ago
"This is a sign the economy is nearing full employment when previously marginalized workers are suddenly treated well." Another explanation is that jobs have become harder to fill, and that's why companies are treating previously marginalized workers well. They know if they don't they'll have a hard time finding people to replace them. Or it could just be that employers are now starting to realize the value of older, more mature, and more experienced workers. Or maybe they're rejecting ageism as discriminatory, and want to treat everyone more fairly. Attitudes towards discrimination have certainly changed greatly over time, and a lot of discriminatory activity has become much less acceptable than it once was. The explanations probably vary from company to company, from person to person, and from time to time. I'd be curious to interview hiring managers and older employees about this to get their take on it.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

justonepost 9y ago

"Many boomers facing retirement want to work because they fear they don't have enough money for retirement." - shouldn't this increase the unemployment rate?