Wiser Worker Blog

Are you less likely to be laid off?  Today on Businessweek there is some good news for older workers out there. Apparently, with all the lay offs going on, businesses are leaning more towards keeping their 55+ workers over the younger employees.

Companies nationwide are laying off workers by the tens of thousands. But many are trying to spare the post-55 set from the ax, a reversal of the top-down trends in past waves of layoffs. They’re being driven by legal concerns—since boomers are in a protected age group—and by a need to keep experienced hands in place to keep the companies running and positioned for an upturn. “Seniority matters,” says Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College.

All age groups are being hit by cuts now coursing through Corporate America, but government statistics so far suggest that the burden is falling far more heavily on younger workers.

The article goes on to suggest that companies are paying particular attention to veterans and doing what they can to hold onto them.  So there you go, a little silver lining for you in some tough times. I guess that means if you thought you couldn’t get hired let alone keep a job in such a tough economy, now you know that you can.  Be sure to check out our Putting Americans Back to Work Job Fair dates to start off your job search in your area.

Read full BusinessWeek article.