In the current economic climate, many people are finding themselves out of work. People who have spent years working for the same company are finding themselves spending their days searching for jobs. While many find the task difficult, those aged 45 and over have the hardest time landing that new job. A recent New York Times article found that not only did it take longer for this age group to find jobs, 22.2 weeks as compared to 16.2 weeks for their younger counterparts, but they also faced a much steeper drop in earnings once they found a new job. In 2005, a professor at Texas A&M University conducted a study in which she sent out 4,000 resumes for a hypothetical woman changing only the high school graduation year. She found that workers under 50 were 40 percent more likely to be called for an interview.
The article continued by documenting the plight of older, laid off workers, many of whom have children already in college or attending in the next few years. These workers are frustrated with their inability to change their situation. Some have resorted to thinking about a change in career, hoping that a different career will be easier to break into. Either way, these workers feel sure they are being discriminated against because of their age, something they recognize each time they interview.