Older workers are less likely to find a comparable or better job with the same or more pay after a job loss or separation. Such are the findings of a survey of 13,618 people by DBM, formerly Drake Beam Morin.
The human resources consultancy, which polled individuals from 27 countries, found that 47 percent of the professionals surveyed were able to find new positions at the same or higher salaries after leaving their jobs. Of those, 60 percent of the Generation X-ers said they found comparable or better jobs.
That was not true of baby boomers or mature workers 57 years and older. Of the boomers, 42 percent found comparable or better work with the same or more pay. The percentage of mature workers for whom this finding held true was even smaller, at 33 percent.
Professionals in management, marketing and sales, finance and accounting, and information systems were more likely to experience job separation or turnover, the study found. And the average length of time to re-employ- ment increased with age. Job seeking Generation X-ers, for example, spent an average of three months looking for work before they landed a new opportunity; baby boomers, four months; and mature workers spent 4.4 months searching.
Seasoned professionals also were more likely to start their own businesses or become consultants, possibly because of fewer opportunities in the labor market. Younger workers ages 21 to 37 were less likely to launch their own companies or become consultants after losing jobs. Only 7 percent started a business or became consultants.
By contrast, 16 percent of those 57 and older launched a business and 19 percent became consultants, the study said. Of those between ages 38 and 56, some 11 percent launched a business and 9 percent went into consulting.
When looking for new work, more seasoned professionals are more likely to enter an entirely new field than their younger counterparts, the study found. Of those 21 to 37 years old, for example, 68 percent changed industries after leaving their old job and 39 percent changed job functions.
Among those 38 to 56 years old, 75 percent changed industries and 44 percent changed job functions. Of those 57 and older, 81 percent found work in different industries and 57 percent were doing different work, the study said.