Underemployment traps older workers in jobs

For the research, AARP conducted an online survey of 750 people age 45 and older last August. Another one of the survey's key insights is that the causes of underemployment among older

workers vary depending on whether they have too few hours — defined as working less than 35 hours a week — or feel that they're too skilled for their current work. While workers whose

skills don't match their current position cite age discrimination or the difficulty of finding a job that meets their preferred income and benefits as major reasons for their

underemployment, 62 percent of older workers who are underemployed based on hours point to poor health, being too busy or caring for an adult or child. "Caregiving responsibilities are

important and even though they are technically voluntary, they don't feel as such,” says Cal Halvorsen, an assistant professor at the Boston College School of Social Work and a research

affiliate at the Center on Aging & Work, also at Boston College. Boomers in particular may feel like the sandwich generation — caring for their parents, who are living longer, and for

their children, who are slower to become financially independent. “The other thing to consider is the cost of hiring caregivers is quite high,” Halvorsen says. Performing the work themselves

may be a cost saver for some adult workers, even after reducing their work schedule. Workers underemployed due to a skill mismatch are less likely to be satisfied with their jobs than

workers underemployed due to working too few hours. The AARP survey shows that only 55 percent of mismatched workers are satisfied, compared with 79 percent of those workers who are

underemployed based on hours. Seventy-one percent of mismatched workers are bothered “that their current job doesn't make use of their skills,” the survey says. Yet despite the

dissatisfaction with their current employment situation, 56 percent of mismatched workers aren't looking for different work. The same is true to 44 percent of underemployed workers due

to insufficient hours. One reason older workers aren't looking elsewhere in droves is that those who have jobs may feel reluctant to test the waters. According to the Urban Institute,

about half of full-time, full-year workers between the ages of 50 and 54 will lose their jobs involuntarily. “It is possible that those who are underemployed yet feel that their work is

secure are hesitant to seek out new jobs,” Halvorsen says.