Age is perceived as the biggest barrier to employment

Topics

• Member pulse
• Unemployment

Age is an increasingly important barrier to employment for people aged 45 and over. An overwhelming majority of those aged 55 and over cited age as a barrier to employment. Those with tertiary education perceive age as a barrier to employment as much as those with a secondary education.

The unemployed and those in part-time work see their age as the biggest barrier to employment. Age was cited as a barrier to employment by 31% of unemployed and part-time respondents.

The result was obtained from the YTK Unemployment Fund’s Member Pulse survey, to which nearly 23 000 YTK members responded. Respondents came from all sectors of work across Finland.

The perception of age as a barrier to employment is growing among respondents over 45 years of age, with an overwhelming majority of respondents aged 55-64 years already identifying age as a barrier to employment. On the other hand, people under 35 years of age hardly perceive their age as a barrier to employment. 

Education is not a factor, with those with higher education perceiving age as a barrier to employment as much as those with a secondary education.

“When you’re 50, you can’t even get an interview,” said one respondent to the survey.

“The debate on extending working careers is a hot topic, and raising the retirement age has also been on the agenda recently. If you need to get 70-year-olds into work, there’s no way 50 is too old to work. This is where attitudes need to change,” says Auli Hänninen, Managing Director of the YTK Unemployment Fund.  

Education still pays off in the labour market 

After age, education was the most common reason: 24% of unemployed and part-time respondents felt that their education did not match employers’ requirements. Jobseekers with a primary or secondary education are particularly likely to see their education as a barrier to employment. Fewer of those with higher education cited education as a barrier to employment.

Lack of suitable full-time work was cited as a barrier to employment by 23% of unemployed and part-time respondents, while insufficient pay for suitable full-time work was cited by 17% of the same group.

Jobs are perceived to be under a rock

In the open responses, many unemployed respondents said that there are so many applicants for vacancies that it is difficult even to get an interview.

“There are so many applicants in my field that it is difficult to even get an interview”, said one respondent aged 35-44.

“Huge number of applicants for every vacancy”, said a 45-54 year old respondent, describing their barriers to employment. 

Unemployment itself was also perceived as a barrier to employment.

“I feel that I am on a different line from someone who is employed, even if my skills are no different from those of other applicants”, said one unemployed respondent.

The total number of respondents to the survey was 22 764. Respondents are distributed in a representative way across the country and across different sectors. The survey was conducted electronically among the members of the YTK Unemployment Fund 22.3.2024-28.3.2024.