Are you past landing a job at 55? The reality of ageism despite labour shortages
From reporter Amanda Cropp:
For older job-seekers like Christine Black, the low unemployment rate has improved her odds of getting an interview.
The 61-year-old accountant recently got shortlisted for a call centre job, an improvement on five years ago when she applied for the same position and didn’t get a look in.
Being asked if you have any health issues or told you are over-qualified, (which she was for the call centre position), can be shorthand for “you’re too old,” and Black says ageism is still a problem.
“Somebody said to me ‘your life experience exceeds our expectations’ ... I know a lot of under-employed women between 50 and 65.”
A third of the workforce is over the age of 55, and the proportion working past retirement age has risen steadily.
In 2008, 15% of those aged 65-plus were employed, compared with just over 25% in 2022.
According to Stats NZ forecasts, by 2043 the labour force will have up to 386,000 people aged 65-plus, almost double the number in 2020.
The Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, and unless it is a genuine qualification for a job – such as bar work – it can be unlawful for an employer to ask your age in a job interview.
Read the full story here.
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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36.2% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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63.8% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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