Losing your job after age 50 could derail your career

Thomas Heep (left), Steven Fielding (center), and Jon McCarty (right) struggled to find work after losing their jobs later in life.

Thomas Heep (left), Steven Fielding (center), and Jon McCarty (right) 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.