The Labor Market for Older Workers or Retirees Looking for Jobs

The difficulty which an older worker has in finding a job is also directly related to the condition of the labor market at the time he looks for work.

When there is a shortage of workers, older people have a much better chance of finding a job. You all know how, during the last war, employers were glad to hire middle-aged and older workers many of whom came out of retirement because they knew their country needed them. Just the opposite is true when there are too few jobs to go around. During the last depression, for example, older workers were the first to be laid off and if an older worker lost his job during the depression it was next to impossible to find another.