Age-old remedy

By ASHLEY CAMPBELL

It's a good news, bad news, good news story. And there's a few people wondering just what will come next.

The first piece of good news: If you're over 40 and want a job, you're more likely than the under-40s to have one. The over-40s are under-represented among the ranks of the unemployed.

Then there's the bad news: If you're over 40 and unemployed, you're more likely to be unemployed long-term. The under-representation disappears among those out of a job for more than six months.

Good news again: Despite the impression you might get from this week's "jobs jolt" measures to get 55- to 59-year-old unemployed people back into work, it's a hell of a lot better than it was last year.

Statistics New Zealand figures show that between March last year and March this year the number of long-term unemployed fell 13 per cent. But among those aged 40 to 49 the fall was 22 per cent, and 25 per cent among the long-term unemployed aged 50 or older.

Sick of figures yet? Stick with me just a bit longer.

More 40-plus people were actually in the labour force (working or actively seeking a job) this year than last and fewer of them were unemployed.

Contrast this with just under three years ago when the Herald reported gloomily, "Today, a minority of New Zealanders in their 50s are working. That's right - fewer than half." This year that figure was more than three-quarters.

What's going on? Has employers' oft-lamented age discrimination disappeared into a cloud of political correctness, as legions of previously disenfranchised, but skilled, applicants prove their worth?

Well yes, and no. Even Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) chief executive Alasdair Thompson went on record this week, calling some employers "ageist".

Statisticians themselves warn about jumping to too many conclusions from unemployment figures alone. For a start, anyone who works an hour a week is counted as employed, so the statistics say nothing about underemployment.

As Equal Opportunities Commissioner Judy McGregor says of a study she and Lance Gray carried out on older job seekers in 2001, "Many women thought they were under-employed and wanted more hours". The Household Labour Force Survey suggests underemployment of women is still a problem.

Secondly, anyone who's decided to live off a benefit and tend the vegetable garden rather than continue to withstand endless rejection and accusations of being "overqualified" doesn't show up, because they've removed themselves from the labour force.

And that could be happening in the 50-54 and 60-64 age groups, where the labour force participation rate dropped this year.

But in every other 40-plus age group - including those 55- to 59-year-olds - it rose, and the unemployment rate either decreased or stayed steady. There's no getting away from it: more mature job seekers are actually getting jobs.

Of course, it is entirely possible that many are in jobs they don't enjoy and which don't use their skills and experience.

Dave Stewart, general manager of executive recruitment agency Stratum Consulting, points out that the baby boomers' work ethic means they are unlikely to show up as unemployed because "they will do something". He knows, for example, of one degree-qualified job seeker who has been house painting for three months rather than draw the dole. But anecdotal evidence suggests that things are indeed picking up for the older unemployed - at least in the large cities.

Roger Tweedy, chairman of the Work and Age Trust, has noticed a shift in the past year. The trust runs a centre in Wellington helping the newly redundant, especially those aged 45-55, work as independent contractors.

"Historically, two or three years ago, most of them came into contracting because they had no other choice," says Tweedy. "Increasingly, now they are coming in through choice."

And many of those who had been contracting out of necessity are being wooed back into fulltime employment. It's happened to Tweedy himself - a contrast with his earlier applying for banking jobs, having worked in the industry for 32 years, and not even getting an interview.

"The only thing I can put that down to is age."

Those previously reluctant contractors now have some real choices and bargaining power. "Employers are so keen to get you they are actually negotiating some work-life balance or some different ways of working."

In Auckland, Brian Osborne of Ames Training and Resource Centre, has also noticed a change. The organisation used to focus exclusively on helping mature applicants in their employment search, but now it concentrates on computer training, with those mature job seekers among its trainees. With the right qualifications, many are walking straight out of their training and into jobs, he says.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out the major force behind the change. In March 2001 the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was was 5.4 per cent. In March this year it was 5 per cent. If you separate out the figures for men you'll see a drop from 5.5 per cent to 4.7 per cent in the same two years.

Osborne is under no illusion that there's been a fundamental shift in attitude. "If you have a downturn in the economy, of course it all comes flooding back."

It's a sentiment Stewart shares. "The economic side is driving a greater uptake of talent right across all sectors," he says. Employers are being "forced in a very positive way to broaden their scope".

Judith Davey, director of the Institute of Research on Ageing, warns that demographics will continue forcing them to broaden their scope.

"The average age of the workforce is over 40 now, and smaller numbers of younger workers are coming on. Employers will have to look to older workers."

And they will have to start challenging their own beliefs, she says.

"There are a lot of myths about older workers - that older workers are not flexible, don't know much about technology, are likely to be off sick.

"But most of these things can be disproved, [and they have] the advantages of greater stability, greater experience and greater loyalty to an organisation."

Recruitment agencies have been working with the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust over recent years to help employers broaden their scope.

In a survey by the Human Resources Institute and EEO Trust in 2000, more than 95 per cent of HR and recruitment advisers said some people faced unfair barriers to employment, with older people discriminated against the most. Almost two-thirds reported first-hand experience of discrimination against older people.

So the trust and insitute developed a training resource to help advisers better deal with client instructions to discriminate for whatever reason, including age.

Stewart says large corporations are unlikely to give overt instructions to discriminate, because they are more aware of the legal requirements. "Where you tend to get the more overt [discrimination] is the SME owner-operators who don't have the political correctness."

Even so, he says the message can come across loud and clear. "They [clients] will talk about vitality or energy or team and cultural fit." Invariably, every member of the team is 40 or younger. But by constantly reinforcing the competencies and personal qualities necessary for the job, a skilled adviser is often able to make a client realise that age, per se, is irrelevant, Stewart says.

What is relevant is whether a company has the experiences and skills necessary to meet the market's needs. And one thing is certain about the New Zealand market - it's getting older. As some employers are beginning to realise.