Economic Chill May Freeze Out the Aging

He operated a successful video production company for 14 years, but now Richard Krantz is looking for a job in his old field: journalism.

Krantz, 60, an award-winning former newspaper and television reporter, said he became tired of running his own business and longed for the camaraderie of the newsroom and the comfort of a steady paycheck.

But several months into the job search, Krantz has had few responses. He wonders if his age has anything to do with it.

“No matter how good you were in the past, the question becomes, how good are you now? Your potential employer doesn’t know, and in some ways even you don’t know,” said Krantz, of Columbia, Md. “It’s very scary. You’re very much fighting the fear of rejection.”

There’s no question that older workers have been helped by the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. The booming economy had companies scrambling to find employees--and more than willing to consider older ones.

The numbers tell the story: In 1992, with the country emerging from a recession, the unemployment rate for workers 55 and older was 4.8%. It has declined every year since, to 2.6% last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

But now that the economy has cooled off, some advocates for the elderly worry that older workers may soon encounter difficulty finding or keeping jobs.

And they question whether stereotypes about older workers have really melted away, or whether tight labor markets are the primary reason why workers over 55 have had an easier time in the last few years.

The unsettled economy could provide some answers, but experts are divided over the effect it will have on the older work force.

“In a time when we are perhaps leading into a recession, older workers are going to be the hardest hit,” said Deborah Russell, who studies work force issues for the AARP. The group contends that age discrimination is alive and well, despite the gains of the last several years.

Some employers still view older workers as frail, unmotivated and set in their ways, advocates say. And during an economic downturn, employers are often reluctant to hire or keep older workers because they are perceived to be more expensive, career counselor Ben Shuster said.

“It’s a false assumption. It’s probably ultimately more expensive to train somebody to a level of competence than to take someone with experience,” said Shuster, a board member of Forty Plus of Philadelphia Inc., a nonprofit career counseling organization for professionals over 40.

But other labor experts said that employers have become much more receptive to the strengths of mature workers.

Bill Perdue, a career counselor to older adults, said hiring executives have found older adults to be loyal and reliable.

“So even if the economy gets worse, we don’t think the effect on the older worker is going to be disproportionate to the younger worker,” said Perdue, a staffing specialist at Experience Works!, a nationwide staffing service for older adults.

Although her company gave plenty of warning, Margaret McCaul was saddened and apprehensive when she was laid off in November--a victim of corporate restructuring.

McCaul, 59, of Cherry Hill, N.J., had grown comfortable in her job as an administrator for a mortgage company and was a bit jittery about the search for a new one. “It was the idea of going to a new job and not knowing how things were done, or the background of the company,” she said. She also worried that potential employers might not be able to see past her age.

It turns out she had nothing to worry about. McCaul quickly landed work at a company that places human resources executives.

“The biggest plus on my resume was being in school. It seemed a sure signal that I could learn, was able to change environments,” said McCaul, who is pursuing a master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology.

A demonstrated ability to change and grow can help prospective employees overcome any reservations an employer might have, according to career counselor Deb Koen.

“It’s likely that an individual may be moving into a very dynamic work environment in which goals change regularly, management changes, and the ability to deal positively with that kind of change is a marketable quality,” she said.

Koen recommends that older workers ask themselves several questions at the beginning of their job search:

* Are my salary expectations realistic?

* Are my skills current, and does my resume reflect this?

* Am I technologically savvy?

* Am I flexible and open-minded?

“In many cases, older job seekers do face distinct challenges that in some cases translate into extended job searches,” said Koen, vice president of Career Development Services of Rochester, N.Y.