Has the displacement of older workers increased?

Has the displacement of older workers increased?

Has the displacement of older workers increased?

Munnell

Alicia Haydock

Munnell, Alicia Haydock

Dept. of Finance, Carroll School of Management

Author

Author

Sass

Steven

Sass, Steven

Author

Author

Soto

Mauricio

Soto, Mauricio

Author

Author

Zhivan

Natalia

Zhivan, Natalia

Author

Author

text

working paper

Chestnut Hill, Mass. Center for Retirement Research at Boston College20062006monographic

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

2006

2006

monographic

Englisheng

English

eng

electronicapplication/pdfborn digital

electronic

application/pdf

born digital

The employment of older workers into their mid-60s will be critical to their ability to ensure a secure retirement. One of the risks threatening the ability to work to older ages is being displaced, with displacement defined as the elimination of the workers job due to a shift in the demand for labor. Displacement can easily throw 50-year-old workers off course, disrupt their retirement saving plans, and lead to premature retirement.

This paper explores the relationship between job loss and age over the period 1984-2004 using the biennial Displaced Worker Supplement to the Current Population Survey. It finds that no major trends in the displacement of older workers have occurred over the 11 Displaced Worker Surveys conducted during the period. Re-employment rates for older workers appear to have improved. And the earnings loss associated with the displacement of older workers has not changed significantly. Two other significant findings relate to tenure and education. First, the historical protection that older workers appeared to have against displacement was due to tenure not to age per se. Controlling for tenure, the probability of displacement increases with age. Second, college education is no longer a source of significant protection in the world of displacement, and its importance has declined sharply for re-employment.

Alicia H. Munnell, Steven Sass, Mauricio Soto, and Natalia Zhivan.

CRR WP2006-17

CRR WP2006-17

CRR WP

2006-17

http://crr.bc.edu/images/stories/Working_Papers/wp_2006-17.pdf

MChBEnglisheng

MChB

Englisheng

English

eng