For many older people in Canada, jobs in retail and other low-level sectors are their only means of survival, according to a report by two Toronto university professors. A report from Statistics Canada, meanwhile, says older workers are among two groups most affected by long-term unemployment.

Older Canadians have increasingly been forced into retirement, but can't afford to stop working and many end up in low-paying jobs, say Tom Klassen and Norene Pupo of York University. Statistics show that 44.2 percent of women over age 65 worked at part-time retail jobs in 2003, compared with 17.5 percent of men. Employment statistics also point to a growing trend among Canadian workers to take non-standard employment, including part-time work, self employment or odd jobs following retirement.

Retirement 'not an option'
"Unfortunately, for much of the working poor - particularly women - retirement is not an option," says Pupo, a professor of sociology and director at the university's Centre for Research on Work and Society. "They need to continue earning income and are often forced into the most marginalized types of employment, typically jobs in the service sector, characterized by low pay, poor working conditions and lack of benefits."

Proponents of mandatory retirement often cite unemployment rates, the prospect of employee turnover and the need to open up jobs for new grads or youth, says Klassen, a professor in York's Department of Political Science.

"There's this perception that older workers are 'taking jobs away,' from other groups," he says. "Essentially, that's the same argument that was made about women joining the workforce-that they were 'taking jobs away' from men. Fundamentally, this is a human rights issue." The two York professors have collaborated with other experts on a new book dealing with the controversial policy of forcing workers to retire at an arbitrary age. Time's Up! Mandatory Retirement in Canada features contributions from eminent researchers in economics, business, politics and sociology.

Upper career levels less affected
"Unfortunately, what we see happening is a greying of the elite," Pupo adds. "Those in the upper echelons don't seem to be subject to these rules. Politicians and CEOs are two good examples…they tend to choose when they will retire, and quite often continue working part-time in their retirement, not out of financial necessity but for other personal reasons."

A shift in attitudes towards retirement is slowly taking place, the coauthors say. Canada will soon catch up with Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., which have largely banned compulsory retirement. Mandatory retirement before age 70 was prohibited in the U.S. in 1978 and banned altogether in 1986.

The Ontario government last June announced plans to abolish mandatory retirement legislation and New Brunswick plans a similar move. Four other provinces and three territories have already ended mandatory retirement.

"It's gradually becoming socially accepted that mandatory retirement is not something that benefits individuals or employers," Klassen agrees. "Aging baby boomers are really going to force a large social shift in the way we see work."

Older workers, women most affected
The recent report on chronic unemployment from StatsCan shows that older Canadians, as well as women in general, make up the largest share of those who are unemployed either permanently or for extended periods. Visible minorities and people with disabilities many of them older people-make up other population groups who suffer from either chronic or permanent unemployment.

People over 40 made up the second highest number of Canadians shown to be chronically unemployed, according to the report, Chronic Unemployment: A Statistical Profile, which covers the period between 1993 and 2001. Women accounted for 55 percent of the chronically-unemployed population and nearly two-thirds of those who have never found a job, the report says.

While people who were chronically out of work or always unemployed accounted for 15 per cent of all unemployed Canadians over the eight years, older Canadians and women together accounted for 41 percent of all weeks of unemployment during the period. "The challenge of unemployment has dogged policy-makers in Canada during the past three decades," says Bradley Brooks, author of the report. "The financial costs associated with this phenomenon have been substantial."

Largest number aged 56 to 63
Visible minorities of all ages represented nine percent of the unemployed population during the study period and 17 percent of those always unemployed. But the picture was more discouraging for those with disabilities, who include many older people. Close to one third of those listed as permanently unemployed were people with a disability and 16 percent of those chronically without employment. Older workers represented 28 percent of unemployed Canadians during the period, but more than 38 percent of the chronically unemployed and 52 percent of those who never found a job. People aged 56 to 63 were the most affected, the StatsCan report says. People in that age group were over-represented in chronic unemployment.

"This suggests that obstacles to re-employment become more challenging as one ages," it explains. "Possible barriers to reemployment for older workers include higher wage expectations, choosiness in selecting a new job, skill mismatches that hinder career change and also demand-side constraints associated with aging."