Why the Middle-Aged Are Missing Out on New Jobs

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I'm always amazed at the level of ignorance of those who write these articles. A recent CIS study revealed that 67% of all new job growth in the United States between 2008 and 2012 went to foreign born immigrants both legal and illegal and almost all of those jobs were the lowest hanging fruit. This occurred despite, by far, most of the population growth in the U.S. coming from native born citizens and the United States having the worst domestic labor market since the Great Depression.

American of CA 10:42PM January 03, 2013

I was with my Co. for 9yrs till the doors closed in Aug. for good! Since I'm considered a dislocated employee, I'm now in a program that will pay for my college tuition,all my books and I'm even able to continue drawing my unemployment while attending school! I'm very fortunate on that part, when I receive my associate degree at least I won't have college debt hanging over my head! I'm going for an Associate degree in Occupational Health and Safety! Hopefully being a employed full-time OSHA safety person after I graduate! I think I have chose a career that there is a growing demand for! However when I graduate I will be 55! So there is that fear of not only returning to school after 30+yrs but also the fear of finding a job after I graduate! Determined but scared to death!

Rachel of TX 9:46PM December 20, 2012

With the automation of PC era PC skills are essential to have.
Those who are weak are at a huge disadvantage in both being able to locate positions and compete for open ones.
It has also permanently cut the amount of new decent paying positions that are available due to the productivity gains that have come from pc's.
Do not discount this when looking at the whole picture!

Todd T of MN 12:32PM June 02, 2011

Where are the jobs for people that have a handicap, mentally or physically? I think Walmart is a good store except that they have 10cashiers and they only open 4. Why won't they just open all of them up and hire 10 cashiers a shift. They do that at Loglis. I used to work at loglis and on the weekend they would have all there cashiers open for business.

Sharee of IL 9:14PM April 27, 2011

I just turned 54 this week and am underemployed but happy to have a job at all. And as I approach the "senior" age I can understand why they are getting the jobs-lower expectations. Boomers in their 40s still cling to the concept oif a career and climbing up to the top. They're going for wonderful while seniors go for allright. A lot of these same seniors have paid off their homes and already enjoy health benefits-so why not be a Costco greeter. Don't get me wrong - most in their 50s and higher have a strong work ethic. But it becomes obvious in training classes that there is probably less social mobility here than in the UK, and if that 30 year old Center Director isn't asking if you play golf you're gonna be entry level for a long time.

RJ of CA 12:28PM April 27, 2011

One thing about the mid aged work range specified in the article is that they're caught at the "wrong time" in the PC adoption revolution.
Younger? You grew up with Windows, Office apps, Internet tools, and may have used the same tools and ways of working since grade school.
Older? If you're a senior manager, those under you will use the tools when asked. If you're not a VP level, you're often supervising teams that will happily generate the required pivot tables and 3D pie charts on demand and update the team info on the social media.
The middle aged managers are often the ones not able to be team leader because the teams are better able to self manage with the modern tools and knowledge gained from (for one example) working on open-source projects.
As the number of users under someone called a Team Lead has expanded from 20 or so to 40-100, a more senior person is managing those teams. That senior person may be an MBA from a top school, or perhaps a 60 year old with authority and influence. That's great, and reduces the need for having numbers of 40s-60s middle manager types.
That's what I and my contacts have seen. Comments?

Tech Worker of CA 2:59PM April 26, 2011

Hey David of SC,
It's not fair to class all unemployed people as not looking for jobs. You may know of some people who take advantage of the system and stop looking for work. That is not the case for everyone. I can speak for myself and alot of others "I may stop eating (because I can't afford it), but I DO NOT stop looking for a job!" There are alot of factors per individual that affect their status for even being considered a candidate for a position, but you still apply for jobs. Care to take a walk in my shoes?

Annie of WI 3:09PM April 23, 2011

I'd like to know how the unemployed just decide to stop looking for work. Do they decide to stop eating as well? Hey Rick, how about some research on that? You'd get a lot of clicks on that story.

David of SC 11:31AM April 23, 2011

I agree with Godfrey. The way to get more jobs is to create new industries that will hire people. During the deep recession in the early 80's, Reagan got lucky that the PC industry had already been created and was going to grow big enough to hire all the unemployed. In the 90's, the internet based companies hired the unemployed from the late 80's/early 90's recession. No new industries were created to hire people from the 2000/2001 recession. Instead, money was pumped into building houses in a big pyramid scheme. When the bubble popped, we found there actually was no business hiring people.
Put money into R&D. Put money into research labs. We need new industries to hire the unemployed.

Pat Lanips of FL 8:16PM April 22, 2011

Americans cannot compete with a billion chinese or a billion people in India. They can work cheaper. We can't afford nafta, the free trade agreement. Put a penny tax on every item imported in this country, and give all Americans out of work that tax money so they can keep their homes ect. If Companies want to go over seas to beat taxes ,labor cost ect. then give us a check. Don't use my military that I served in to protect your interest, hire blackwater men at 600 dollars a day to protect you. After all you have all the money to move over seas. Come back home and we will protect you. Otherwise we will turn our backs on you like you have us. Make a law that all profits over a certain amount will go to the people. Are we not the government? when gas goes up to 10 dollars a gallon just sent me my check for anything over 3 dollars instead of increasing companies profits, give something back to the people. This would curb inflation and control prices and profits. In other words make people part of the profits and the system instead of being separate.

charles s watson Sr of FL 9:12AM April 22, 2011