IEEE-USA PERSPECTIVES, March 1999


Times Tough for Older Job-Seekers


by Paul Kostek, IEEE-USA President


According to data obtained by IEEE-USA, electrical and electronics
engineers and other technical professionals are having difficulty
finding and retaining jobs as they get older. Because so many IEEE U.S.
members are over the age of 40, this trend is particularly troubling. In
spite of steady economic growth, downsizing continues unabated as
companies merge, reorganize and outsource in order to maintain market
share and profitability. Simultaneous industry claims of high-tech
worker shortages prompted Congress to nearly double the influx of
temporary high-tech guest workers under the H-1B visa program over the
next three years.


IEEE-USA's 1998 Unemployment Survey shows that despite a growing economy
in 1998, the mean duration of unemployment among our members has
increased from 84 weeks in 1995 to 103 weeks in 1998. Using data from
the survey, Dr. Laura Langbein of American University has calculated
that each additional year of age of members seeking new jobs translates
into three additional weeks of unemployment. According to Langbein,
"Age appears to have a persistent effect on the duration of
unemployment, but it cannot be determined from these surveys whether
that is attributable to productivity differences, price differentials,
age discrimination or some other factor."


Similarly, data from the Current Census of Population shows that median
years of tenure with an employer diminishes with age, especially for
males, rather than increases as commonly assumed. In 1983, a male
engineer aged 35 to 44 years would expect to have a medium tenure of 7.3
years. By 1996, median tenure had dropped to 6.1 years. Male engineers
aged 45-54 saw their tenure drop from 12.8 to 10.1 years in the same
period. Those in the 55-to-64-year cohort saw tenure drop nearly 50
percent from 15.3 years to 10.5 years. In short, the duration of
careers with a single employer is decreasing, and the prospects for a
stable career get worse for males as they get older.


As noted by Langbein, the root causes of these trends are not clear.
Industry spokespersons often claim that older workers lack flexibility
and are reluctant to learn the skills they need to stay at the cutting
edge of technology. They contend that recent graduates with
"in-demand" skills are more productive when calculating the cost of
labor than experienced workers who expect higher salaries and may
require expensive retraining. Experienced employees with families who
have put down roots in their communities are reportedly less willing to
relocate to new jobs as often or to work long hours as frequently as new
hires. Other observers attribute increasing displacement and declining
tenure among older workers to subtle and blatant forms of age
discrimination.


Because these problems facing older workers affect so many IEEE U.S.
members, IEEE-USA is taking a closer look at the situation. Last year,
I announced an "Older Workers Initiative" designed to: 1) assess the
magnitude and causes of these problems and identify appropriate policy
solutions, and 2) develop new products and services to help our members
cope with a rapidly changing work environment as they grow older. What
we came up with is a broad-based approach that will help individual
members maintain their employability and encourage employers to value
and make more effective use of experienced engineers.


The 1998 Unemployed Members Survey helped us get a better understanding
of the issues. IEEE-USA is currently conferring with industry
organizations, including the Semiconductor Industries Association and
the Information Technology Association of America, to explore how we can
help employers better use older workers.


With respect to age discrimination, there are laws in place but the
courts and Congress have been unwilling to apply or extend the laws in
ways that limit the ability of companies to make hiring and firing
decisions on economic grounds. In other words, it's an employer's
prerogative to let older workers go if it can be shown that they cost
"too much." The legislative and judicial status quo is likely to
prevail unless and until there develops wide-spread grassroots pressure
for change.


IEEE-USA is determined to document the extent and causes of problems of
older high-tech workers and to help our members understand their legal
rights and remedies in the area of employment law. We took an important
step in mid-December, when IEEE-USA unveiled an age-discrimination Web
page as a new on-line information source (see "News Bytes" on this
page). In the months ahead, IEEE-USA will conduct additional research to
help identify and publicize impediments to continuing career vitality
for senior technical professionals.


For more information on IEEE-USA's Older Workers Initiative and the
studies and services described above, contact Vin O’Neill at
202-785-0017, ext. 319, or v.oneill@ieee.org.


Chris Brantley, IEEE-USA Government Activities Manager, and Vin
O’Neill, IEEE-USA Senior Administrator, contributed to this article.