Grazing in the grass

At an event in the New York offices of an on-demand labor services company this week, a panelist stated “companies are putting older workers out to pasture, and replacing them with younger workers with different skill sets and pay levels.” He may have stated the obvious, but it’s a fact no major company is willing to admit.

Another panelist pointed out that unemployment statistics are misleading “because they don’t capture people who’ve been unable to get a full-time job, and have turned to freelancing and contract work.” Again, he may have stated the obvious, but it’s a fact few U.S. government officials will admit.

A CNN piece, “Workers over 50 are the ‘unemployables,’” provides a quick overview of the situation facing many displaced professionals with deep experience. It also includes a very telling comment from Michael Harper, a Boston University professor and leading authority in the area of labor, employment, and employment discrimination law.

”It’s very difficult to prove hiring discrimination, because unless somebody says, ‘you’re too old for this job,’ you don’t know why you weren’t hired,” said Harper.

The CNN piece also touches upon the experiences of a job seeker who is often told she is “overqualified” and wonders if that’s just a euphemism for “too old.” Like many of her contemporaries, she has taken on temporary jobs for the past several years.

A PBS segment, “The Unemployment Numbers as Sham: Where Are the Freelancers?” explores the misleading unemployment reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It includes insightful comments from Sara Horowitz, founder and executive director of Freelancers Union.

“The problem is that the unemployment numbers are wrong. They just aren’t keeping up with the changes we’re seeing in the new workforce,” said Horowitz, who also stated that over 42 million people were independent workers either by choice or circumstance. “That’s nearly one-third of the workforce. The BLS surveys haven’t kept up. They don’t capture this type of independent, variable employment because they’re not asking the right questions.”

The PBS segment concludes with the observation, “We do have an employment problem in this country, but we’re not going to figure out what it is until we start asking the right questions.”

At this week’s New York event, another panelist and investor in on-demand labor ventures sounded skeptical of U.S. politicians’ abilities to effectively address the impact of the changing workforce. “They’re not leading us,” he said. “We’re leading us.”

Yes, experienced professionals will continue trying to apply their knowledge and skills to challenges that business operations and other organizations face, even as companies question this wisdom and effort at a price. And, even if government officials aren’t recognizing the reality of today’s labor situation.