SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in Smartbrief on Workforce — tracks feedback from leading managers and HR practitioners. We run the poll question each Wednesday in our e-newsletter and feature analysis from SmartBrief on Workforce Senior Editor Mary Ellen Slayter on this blog.
Last week’s poll question: Who has a harder time finding a job right now?
- Workers over 50, 76%
- Recent college graduates, 24%
The U.S. job market continues to be tough on most workers. Older workers often worry that they are being discriminated against unfairly because of their age, while the youngest workers wonder how they’ll ever pay back their student loans if no one is hiring. Most SmartBrief on Workforce readers say the older workers have it tougher than the recent grads. I’m inclined to agree, given the increased burdens of health care can be, in particular, as you get older. Middle-aged workers are also more likely to have families to support, as well as less flexibility in packing up and moving in search of work.