Workers 35 Years and Older May Suffer More Job Losses and Chronic Unemployment in the Wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic may make resuming employment far more difficult for older workers, who are more likely to be terminated and will face tougher challenges finding a new job at the same level and compensation as the one they lost, reports Wecruiter.io CEO Jack Kelly in Forbes . The United States currently counts 30 million workers who have lost their jobs since mid-March, with downsizing fueled by companies that are slashing budgets while at the same time prioritizing cost reductions. Kelly writes that older employees tend to earn more than younger workers because they have more corporate experience and time, while it is economically convenient for enterprises to terminate well-paid workers as it saves more money. Encouraging this is the trend of "juniorization," in which senior employees are laid off and replaced with younger workers who get paid less. With job seekers now in the millions, Kelly says it will be easy for employers to replace high-priced older workers with younger people desperate for work and willing to accept less pay. "If attention isn't paid to this large group of people, we may have millions of chronically unemployed older people who can't afford their homes and real estate taxes," Kelly warns. "Nor will they be able to support their kids and young-adult children that still need financial help, as they've also been hit by the economic downturn."