It is well known that age-related biases in the labour market can lead to significant employment challenges for older individuals, affecting hiring decisions, job retention, and workplace dynamics. We draw on a survey experiment conducted with recruiters from a sample of firms in Greece to elicit employers’ perceptions about older workers' skills and attitudes towards hiring them into specific jobs. Our econometric analysis reveals elements of both positive and negative discrimination on the basis of the skill requirements of each job: older workers have positive marginal hiring probabilities in jobs where managerial and decision-making skills are deemed as important; and positive marginal hiring probabilities in jobs where digital and creative skills are dominant. We further document that age discrimination is higher for jobs that require initial training, in medium-sized firms and in employers who rely exclusively on the domestic labour market for their recruitment; while it is lower for employers who reportedly experience skill shortages. We discuss the implications of our findings in the context of two opposing “mega-trends”: rising automation and declining (aging) population.
Wednesday 30 April 2025, 2.30pm-4.00pm
Speaker: Vassilis Monastiriotis, Director, Hellenic Observatory Centre; Eleftherios Venizelos Chair of Contemporary Greek Studies; Professor in Political Economy
Venue: CBG.1.08, 1st floor, Centre Building, LSE
** The full Research Seminars series programme is available here. To participate via Zoom, please email us at hellenicobservatory@lse.ac.uk; in-person attendance by those based in London is appreciated.**
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