[edpc]

Unemployment is the No. 1 issue in America -- yet virtually all business people I talk to complain that they can't find the workers they want.

The problem I seem to find is my years of experience and past salary deter prospective employers from considering me. In a lot of cases, I know I fit the job description perfectly, but neither I nor the headhunters receive replies.

[edcoil]

In many cases these jobs posted on jobs boards are simply to meet the requirement before they can bring in a foreign family member under a work visa - they advertize, cannot find anyone and then bring in the foreign working usually a family member.

[muawiyah]

At the moment the problem isn't the inability of employers to find people who can do the job ~ it's that employers aren't looking and have no intention of looking.

When you get right down to it most employers are about 20 minutes from bankruptcy themselves.

Although it's always wise to focus on worker quality, it's meaningless to focus on that problem at this time.

Your fundamentals tell us that mechanization, automation, computerization, improved processes and robotics are destroying job opportunities worldwide ~ and this, in turn, is leading us down a path of massive deflation.

The machines are winning!

[556x45]

LOL, I think the biggest cork in most corps is HR, certainly as bad as the cockroaches in legal. Ive yet to meet a more worthless do nothing bunch. In fact at times they seem to work against the depts they purport to sever. If you want to understand hiring problems begin w/ HR.

[Robert357]

bump for reference

[algernonpj]

The problem I seem to find is my years of experience and past salary deter prospective employers from considering me. In a lot of cases, I know I fit the job description perfectly, but neither I nor the headhunters receive replies.

Before someone comes along to tell you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, your problem is shared by many.

Ageism is rampant, and why hire an experienced American when you can hire an inexperienced 'guest worker' whose salary reflects the no or partial taxes they pay. Better yet offshore to a third world country where one and live well on 5-10K per year.

In tech fields one ages out between 35 and 40.

While there truly had been a decline in the quality of education and culture, this is only a part of the unemployment problem. No one mentions the hoards of proven qualified professionals with a great work ethic who are willing, proven, and able but can't find work of any kind.

Age Bias
GAO Report
Interesting graph here