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Business Daily: Are older people refusing to retire a barrier to young jobseekers?

30/07/2009

Are older people refusing to retire a barrier to young jobseekers?

BBC World Service - Business Daily, Are older people refusing to retire a barrier to young jobseekers?

As more people work past retirement age are they making it tougher for young people?

The ILO reports 75 million young people were out of work in 2008, but can we blame older people who refuse to retire? We hear from the district attorney of New York, Robert Morgenthaw, who's 90.

Are older workers blocking the way for young people looking for jobs? The fact is older people are working later into life, partly because pensions are in crisis in some countries. But that's against a background of rising jobless figures for those under 25. The International Labour Organisation says there were 75 million young people unemployed last year, out of a total 188 million. So does this mean older people should be made to retire at a certain age?

We hear from someone who has carried on working. Robert Morgenthaw - the legendary district attorney of New York has been in that job for more than 30 years. This week marks his 90th birthday - he is not seeking re-election this time, so he will be leaving by the end of the year. Business Daily asked him if he thought about stepping down at the usual retirement age, about 30 years ago.

Business Daily also considers an offbeat idea - some of the economic mess we are in did not come from the credit crisis - part of it was a plain-vanilla, old-fashioned "oil shock" that got us here. Remember how high oil prices were last year? They reached a record $147 a barrel. According to Professor James Hamilton, at the University of California, San Diego, those high prices played a vital role in the downward slide, particularly when the US first dipped into recession at the end of 2007.

We also get some commentary from Nigel Dodd, a sociologist who writes about money. He can still remember the days when you used to have to go and see your bank manager, or mortgage lender, when you wanted to take out a home loan. In recent years, the internet has meant you can get a loan without any personal contact at all. But critics see this lack of human interaction as one of the causes of the financial turmoil. Nigel Dodd tells he is cheered by signs that face to face contact is making a comeback.

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