Losing your job after age 50 could derail your career

• Some Americans who lose their jobs after age 50 spend years struggling to find comparable work.
• In September, the average unemployment duration for workers ages 55 to 64 was over eight months.
• Some older job seekers suspect age discrimination is hurting their chances of finding work.

Cathy Valentine lost her job as a transformation lead in 2023. After three years struggling to find a comparable full-time job, the 61-year-old is now a prep cook at a cafe. She said she earns about an eighth of her previous salary.

"It just feels like I tried to do everything right and I still am stuck," said Valentine, who lives in Florida.

Some older workers who lose their jobs can afford to retire, while others find a comparable role fairly quickly. But those who don't risk getting stuck in a job search that drags on for months or even years — and is getting longer.

On some metrics, older Americans are doing just fine in the job market. As of September, older workers had lower unemployment rates than younger workers, and when they were jobless, the median length of that unemployment was shorter.

But those figures obscure a worse trend for older job seekers. While half of 55 to 64-year-olds were jobless for a relatively low three months, the group's average unemployment duration was more than eight months in September. That means some older workers have been unemployed for so long that they're pulling the average way up.

The gap between the average and median has widened in recent months, suggesting the longest job searches may be growing even longer.

In September, about 173,000 unemployed Americans ages 55 to 64 had been out of work for at least six months, and some are facing far longer stretches of unemployment. A Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis found that only 57% of workers ages 55 to 64 who lost their long-held jobs any time between 2023 and 2025 had found new jobs as of January 2026. By contrast, 73% of workers ages 25 to 54 who lost long-held jobs in that period had found new work.

Some older workers may have taken their job loss as a sign they should retire. But for others, it marked the beginning of an uphill battle to find another job.

The struggle to get hired after 50

As their searches drag on for months or years, older job seekers like Valentine often blame age discrimination for at least part of their struggles.

Thomas Heep, a Denver resident in his 60s, has been searching for full-time work since losing his operations manager role in April 2025. He's struggled to pay his bills and filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

Heep suspects some employers may favor younger job seekers over someone his age because they worry he won't remain in the workforce much longer.

"Even if a company loves my résumé, skill set, and work history, they're going to look at my age and go: How long is he going to stay? He's close to retirement age. It's too risky." he said.

Other older workers suspect their salary expectations may be working against them.

A former Big Tech employee in her early 60s who lost her job last year said she worries her years of experience may put her at a disadvantage compared with younger candidates willing to accept lower pay.

"There's so many people getting laid off at this point who are younger, willing to take these ridiculously low salaries with no benefits," she said.

While some research suggests age discrimination plays a role in hiring, proving it in any individual case can be extremely difficult. And for older job seekers who suspect their age is holding them back, there's often no clear path to addressing the problem.

When finding another job feels out of reach

For some older workers, a prolonged job search eventually leaves them with two options: settle for lower-paying work or give up looking altogether.

Jon McCarty spent 18 months trying to find another software engineering job after losing his role in 2022. Earlier in his career, it typically took him about a month to find a new job. But he said that as he got older, his stretches without work grew longer.

McCarty, who's in his early 60s and lives in Virginia, eventually took a part-time cashier job at Home Depot. He's come to believe he'll likely never return to his former career.

Steven Fielding, 58, has been laid off more than five times during his career in tech communications. He's been looking for work since April and said the employment gaps over the course of his career have taken a toll on his finances, leaving him with little in savings.

Fielding, who lives in Washington state, said he's trying to adapt to the changing job market, including by developing his AI skills. He suspects his age may be contributing to his difficult search, in part because he believes some employers prefer younger workers who are willing to accept lower salaries.

Still, he's hoping his decades of experience can help him land another opportunity.

"It's like my house is down to the foundation and I'm going to have to rebuild again," he said. "It's pretty daunting to think about."

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