Recession:Seniors survive job blues,find more employment too

A study by top multilateral institutions revealed that men remained the preferred choice for employers the world over during the economic crisis period. Youth suffered the most by losing jobs due to recession in several parts of the world, but those above 50-55 managed to escape the pain of unemployment, a recent joint study done by World Bank, WTO, ILO and OECD pointed out.

In the US for instance, employment among the youth aged between 15 and 24 dropped by 15.4 per cent between the first quarter of 2008 and third quarter of 2009. But their seniors not only survived the odds thrown in by the worst ever recession since 1930 which hit several parts of the world economy but also got incremental employment.

In the US, there was a 2.5 per cent increase in employment of those aged over 55 even "while the labour market as a whole lost millions of jobs". The story is more or less similar in the European Union and OECD (developed) countries put together.

In the EU, employment fell by 5.1 per cent for those aged between 15 and 24 between the first quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of 2009. But for those aged over 50, employment in EU increased by 4 per cent.

"This is a notable departure from previous recessions and reflect, amongst other causes, labour-supply responses to losses in retirement savings as a result of financial crisis or the reduction in early-retirement options," it said.

Youth employment fell by over 8 per cent among OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, including Japan and Australia, while the total employment dropped by over 2 per cent in 2009.

Differences of the recession impact on men and women were also visible. "On average, it appears that women may be more likely than to experience lower wages than men, while men are more likely than women to lose their jobs," it said.

The study which was mandated by the leaders of G20 found that in high-income countries, job losses for men were proportionately greater than those for women due to the concentration of men in the sectors in which employment and hours were cut back most sharply, especially manufacturing and construction.