Perceived Workplace Ageism and Older Workers During the Great Recession

Abstract

Age discrimination claims filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission increased sharply at the beginning of the Great Recession (GR) and stayed elevated. Moreover, despite having lower unemployment rates compared to younger workers, older workers' unemployment lasted longer. Previous studies suggest that age discrimination might have extended the unemployment duration for older workers. However, no study has examined the role of perceived workplace ageism in older workers’ employment outcomes during the GR. This paper uses longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to answer the following question: Were older workers who reported to perceive workplace ageism more likely to be unemployed or quit the labor force during the Great Recession? The baseline sample consists of workers aged 51 or older in 2006 (N=4,176). Multinomial logistic regression results show that older workers who agreed that in decisions about promotion, their employer gives younger people preference over older people, were more likely (RRR 2.05, p=0.01) to lose employment in 2008 than being employed, controlling for age, gender, race, education, health, marital status and job characteristics. Older workers who agreed that their co-workers make older workers feel that they have to retire before age 65, were more likely (RRR 1.63, p=0.002) to quit the labor force in 2008 than being employed, controlling for the aforementioned variables. These findings shine light on the important role that perceived workplace ageism played in older workers' employment outcomes during the GR.