People over 50 and people who have been unemployed for a long time are invited for job interviews less often than younger applicants and people who have only been unemployed for a short time. This is evident from a study by the SORA institute on behalf of the Employment Services (AMS). A campaign in the autumn should remedy the situation.
In the study, which was presented on Tuesday in Vienna, twelve percent of applications were treated unequally based on age. Seven percent of applications were discriminated against due to long-term unemployment. When both factors applied, the effect was stronger.
For the experiment, SORA sent 800 applications to 400 open vacancies in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland. The idea behind this: Two fictitious applicants who are identical in all their characteristics, with the exception of the test characteristic, age or duration of unemployment, apply for the same vacancy.
Research conducted in two sectors
The SORA survey was carried out in July and August this year in two sectors hit hard by recruitment problems: food retailing and electrical installation companies.
“To cope with the staff shortage, you would do well to also think about your own recruitment processes,” says AMS board member Johannes Kopf about the research results. Many companies are already exemplary and ensure that no unequal treatment arises, but: “Some unequal treatment can also happen unconsciously,” the labor market expert advises HR departments to think about their own approach to application processes.
The country is facing a labor shortage
Austria is currently facing a labor shortage. This is mainly because baby boomers born between 1955 and 1970 are retiring and fewer young people are entering the labor market.
The number of employed people over the age of 50 has tripled since 1990. While there were approximately 375,000 in 1990, today there are more than 1.14 million. Analysis of unemployment statistics shows that the older you get, the longer your unemployment lasts.
Campaign calls on companies to be more open
In the coming weeks, the AMS will promote greater openness in staff searches, both on television, radio, in newspapers and online. The ad targets businesses with the message ‘Open instead of closing’ and asks ‘How open are you when you are looking for staff?’ The campaign also aims to help reduce potential prejudices faced by older people and the long-term unemployed.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
