Abstract

In Germany, policy changes to extend working lives yielded first successes: As a result of demographic changes and a longer retention of older workers in employment, labour market participation of elderly persons has risen. But still, new hires of older job seekers are rare. Besides skill-related selectivity, the previous status of employment may influence the job opportunities of older job seekers: Unemployed older job seekers face a double burden of prejudices towards their age and the devaluation of human capital after a period of unemployment.

However, we expect better chances for older job seekers to be hired in case of perceived labour shortages. Furthermore, we are interested in the job characteristics that lead to increased chances of hiring older persons rather than younger ones.

Data basis is a representative establishment survey on German Job Vacancies. In 2015 around 13.000 firms provided detailed information on their recruiting processes and new employees including age, gender, qualifications, previous status of employment, wage, and made concessions.