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Older job applicants up to three times less likely to be selected for interview than younger ones, study finds

Fifty-year-old job seekers are up to three times less likely to be selected for interview than younger applicants with less relevant experience, a major new study shows.

Research found that applications from 28-year-old white men were three times more likely to get an interview than those sent by 50-year-old black women, and over twice as likely as those sent by 50-year-old white women.

Academics from Anglia Ruskin and Cyprus universities applied for 811 sales and service jobs in England, sending in applications from fictional British job seekers.

One was a 28-year-old white man with nine years' experience relevant to the job, and the others were from 50-year-old white and black men and women with 31 years' relevant experience. All the fictional applicants said they were employed at the time, and their age and ethnic background were noted on their CVs.

Researchers found that applications from young white men were:

• 1.8 times more likely to be selected for interview than ones from 50-year-old white men
• 2.3 times more likely to be selected than those from 50-year-old white women
• 2.6 times more likely to be selected than those from 50-year-old black men
• 3 times more likely to be selected than those from 50-year-old black women.

Professor Nick Drydakis, Dr. Anna Paraskevopoulou of the School of Business and Law, Anglia Ruskin University, and Dr. Vasiliki Bozani of Economics Research Centre, University of Cyprus, also found that the young men were accepted for interview for jobs that paid more highly, around £19,863, than the ones that 50-year-old men were invited to, around £17,552, 13% lower.

Original Submission