For long-unemployed, hiring bias rears its head

[TheMastersNemesis]

3. You Wouldn't Believe

I worked for DOL for 24 years and retired 14 years ago. Even though I left so long ago, things have not changed. If anything employers have gotten much worse.

I could not believe how twisted and crazy employers were getting even in 1998. It used to drive me out of my mind seeing what employers were demanding of applicants. They were literally demanding all a person's blood and their first born to get hired. And anymore I just hate what employers are able to do. They are not happy unless they have a grip on your private parts these days.

The long term unemployed barrier really takes the cake though. And I am sorry to say ageism is more rampant now than it ever was. Ageism started growing big time in the 1980's. Employers just flat decided that older workers were too much of a burden. And during the 1990's I was seeing huge numbers of 50 somethings being dumped so they could not qualify for any retirement benefits.

The GOP and big business has structurally changed the labor market in ways that mean a career is over by 45 for the most part. Now that the social contract is gone, an employee is expendable at any time for any reason no matter how spurious. It is called "work at will". And as unions have declined the employer class has gotten more and brutal and demanding.

Things will get worse and won't change until workers and voters understand that they have a right to DEMAND a fair labor market. When workers allowed the powers that be end the social contract they were done.

The trend with employment today is that corporations want to move into a contract workers ONLY labor market.