Ageism STILL rife: Older jobseekers less likely to gain job interviews

Older jobseekers face higher levels of prejudice when it comes to finding work, according to research by Anglia Ruskin University.

Researchers created two fictitious applicants; a 28-year-old white British male and a 50-year-old white British male, and sent out 894 pairs of applications to firms advertising for a variety of vacancies.

To counteract any stereotypes, the researchers ensured that additional information about applicants contained physical hobbies (such as cycling and mountain biking) and interests that demonstrated mental flexibility (learning foreign languages and working with computers).

However, the older applicant was 21.9% less likely to be invited for interview, when compared to the younger jobseeker, across a number of sectors in the white-collar, pink-collar and blue-collar fields - Herald Scotland reports.