Who hires older workers? A first look at industry variations in the recruitment of mature workers
Full report
Summary
This paper examines age structure variations in firms’ hiring patterns. It uses data from the Linked Employer-Employee Dataset (LEED) to document variations in the recruitment of older workers across industries, in the 2004/05 to 2006/07 period. It was motivated by concerns that the range of job opportunities that are open to job seekers aged 55 years and over may be more limited than for younger or prime-aged job seekers. For each industry, the paper provides measures of the proportion of employees in the workforce who were older, the proportion of new hires who were older, and the ratio of the two, also known as the Hutchens index of hiring opportunity.
Across industries, we find a strong positive correlation between the proportion of existing employees that were older and the proportion of new hires that were older. In other words, industries that employ a high/low proportion of older workers tend to recruit a similar proportion of older workers within their new employee intakes. However, some variations do exist. The industries that recruited a low fraction of older workers relative to the fraction of their existing workers who were in this age group (leading to a low value of the Hutchens index), included many of the manufacturing industries, forestry and logging, food and beverage services, library and other information services, broadcasting, sport and recreation activities, air transport, and telecommunication services.
It is not possible to tell whether low values of the Hutchens index are due to recruitment barriers faced by older job seekers, or to other factors. Alternative explanations are discussed in the paper.
Author: Sylvia Dixon
All publications in subject category: Demand for labour
- An analysis of teenage employment by firms: 1999/00 – 2006/07
- Employment prospects for the coming year
- Experience and suitability of job applicants: Two policy issues from a survey of employers
- How have Mâori and Pacific people been affected by the recession?
- NZ Accommodation Providers: Impact of Technology on Labour
- Sector Workforce Plans
- Short-term Employment Prospects: 2012-14
- Short-term Employment Prospects: 2012-2015
- Skilled Migrants in New Zealand: Employers’ Perspectives
- Why are men more affected by labour market downturns?
- Youth labour market outcomes after the recession
All publications in subject category: Employment policy / active labour market policy
- A report card on the New Zealand labour market
- An analysis of teenage employment by firms: 1999/00 – 2006/07
- Displacement Effects of Active Labour Market Policy
- Employers’ Perspectives – Part Two: The Minimum Wage System
- Employment prospects for the coming year
- Employment Relationship Problems: Costs, Benefits and Choices
- Equality: Outcomes or Opportunities? A Review of the Literature
- Evidence to date on the working and effectiveness of ALMPs in New Zealand
- How have Mâori and Pacific people been affected by the recession?
- Inventory of Labour Market Measures
- Keeping Work Safe Enforcement Policy
- Parental Leave And Carers Leave: International Provision And Research
- Parental Leave in New Zealand 2005/2006 Evaluation
- Plan of Action to Prevent People Trafficking
- Sector Workforce Plans
- Strategies to Return Injured Workers to Sustainable Earnings - An International Literature Review
- Successful benefit-to-work transitions?
- The impact of employment experiences and benefit-spell duration on benefit-to-work transitions
- The impact of employment policy interventions
- The impact of firm closure on workers’ future labour market outcomes
- Work Capacity Assessment Trial, Phase One results, evaluation report
- Work patterns after paid parental leave
- Youth labour market outcomes after the recession
- Youth Minimum Wage Reform and the Labour Market
All publications in subject category: Older adults
- 45 Plus: Choices in the labour market. Final Report – Stage 1 Review of literature on programmes of career information, advice and guidance for mature non-participants.
- 45 Plus: Choices in the labour market. Final Report – Stage 2 Quantitative Survey
- 45 Plus: Choices in the labour market. Final Report – Stage 3 Qualitative Survey
- Ageing Workforces and Ageing Occupations: A Discussion Paper
- Combining Work and Eldercare: a study of employees in two City Councils who provide informal care for older people
- Older People in Work: Key Trends and Patterns 1991-2005
- Survey of Long-term Unemployment
- The employment and retirement transitions of New Zealanders aged in their 60s
- The working patterns of older workers
- Transitions from work to retirement
