{"id":85629,"date":"2025-08-21T18:55:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/85629\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T18:55:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:55:08","slug":"nearly-25-of-gen-x-workers-whove-been-laid-off-in-the-last-10-years-are-still-looking-for-work-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/85629\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 25% of Gen X workers who\u2019ve been laid off in the last 10 years are still looking for work \u2014 here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Getting laid off later in life can undermine retirement security, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis<\/a> of Boston College\u2019s 2012 to 2022 Retirement Study.<\/p>\n

Of Americans aged 50 to 65 \u2014 many of whom would be Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980 \u2014 14% were laid off once in the previous 10 years, according to the study. And nearly a quarter of those (24%) weren\u2019t able to find a new job.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And older workers who do manage to find a new job? They may have to accept a low-ball offer to stay employed \u2014 especially during a period of economic instability and jobs cuts related to AI and automation.<\/p>\n

Kevin Cahill, an economist at FTI Consulting, told WSJ<\/a> that, based on a forthcoming study he co-wrote, older workers who find new jobs take, on average, an 11% wage cut.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a perfect storm of factors that\u2019s making it harder for Gen X to move ahead in what should be the most successful and highest-paying years of their career.<\/p>\n

Boomers aren\u2019t the only ones facing ageism. An AARP study<\/a> found that 64% of workers over age 50 had witnessed or experienced age discrimination in the workplace.<\/p>\n

For example, 33% of respondents said there\u2019s an assumption in their workplace that older workers aren\u2019t as tech savvy as their younger counterparts, whether that\u2019s accurate or not.<\/p>\n

Another challenge \u2014 and one highlighted by the 11% wage cut \u2014 is that some employers may simply be unwilling to meet their salary expectations. It\u2019s a common lament by Gen Xers that they\u2019re \u201coverqualified\u201d for a position, yet there aren\u2019t as many senior-level positions available that they would be qualified for.<\/p>\n

At the same time, they\u2019re passed over for leadership roles because they\u2019re considered too old.<\/p>\n

As a recent article in Fortune<\/a> points out, instead of passing the baton onto the next generation, \u201cbaby boomers are skipping over Gen X in favor of promoting younger talent into their spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes they\u2019re even paid less than their younger (and less qualified) counterparts. In a Resume Now survey<\/a> of workers aged 40 or older, 49% said they earn less money than younger colleagues who do the same job.<\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

Another one in five (22%) said older workers are passed over for challenging assignments, while 16% say they have an employer that \u201cengages in a pattern of passing over older workers for promotions in favor of younger workers with fewer qualifications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another assumption is that older workers are close to retirement, so there\u2019s no point in hiring them. But many Gen Xers have to \u2014 or choose to \u2014 work well into their so-called golden years.<\/p>\n

Read more: Do you own rental properties in the US? These 6 hacks can help you boost your income and lower your tax burden<\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time, almost three in five (58%) retirees say they left the workforce sooner than planned, according to a 2024 Transamerica<\/a> survey. Of those, 43% cited job loss, organizational changes or retirement buyouts as the cause.<\/p>\n

Some Gen Xers may be forced to retire earlier than planned or take a pay cut to stay in the workforce. Either way, it impacts their retirement plans.<\/p>\n

Either they have less money to set aside for retirement \u2014 at a time when they should be at the height of their earning power \u2014 or, if they\u2019re forced to retire, they have to stretch their retirement savings over a longer period of time.<\/p>\n

Even if they wait to start withdrawing funds from their retirement savings, they\u2019ll miss out on making additional 401(k) or IRA contributions \u2014 including catch-up contributions available to workers 50+.<\/p>\n

Plus, they may have to claim Social Security earlier than planned, resulting in a lifetime of lower benefit checks (the earlier you claim your benefit before your full retirement age, the smaller your check).<\/p>\n

While Gen X is often called the \u2018forgotten generation,\u2019 squeezed in between boomers and millennials, they\u2019re also the \u2018sandwich generation,\u2019 often caring for children and their aging parents at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Gen X workers are facing intense financial pressure \u2014 from rising costs to juggling the responsibilities of caring for both children and aging relatives, all while managing the highest average debt of any generation in the U.S.,\u201d Silvija Martincevic, CEO of workforce management platform Deputy, told Fortune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Gen X, they\u2019re literally between a rock and a hard place. But it doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re completely out of luck.<\/p>\n

Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at Employee Benefit Research Institute, told WSJ<\/a> that older workers can reach out to contacts and stay active in industry-related associations.<\/p>\n

They can also take on gig work, take courses in AI or even pivot to a new career. It could also mean delaying retirement or taking up gig work in semi-retirement.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, if there\u2019s one thing that Gen X excels at, it\u2019s adaptability.<\/p>\n

Stay in the know. Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise sent straight to your inbox every week for free. Subscribe now.<\/a><\/p>\n

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getting laid off later in life can undermine retirement security, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[64,63,99,12864,6070,180,64123,64122,6069],"class_list":{"0":"post-85629","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-dave-ramsey","12":"tag-gen-x","13":"tag-jobs","14":"tag-kevin-cahill","15":"tag-older-workers","16":"tag-retirement-plans"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}