The unemployment rate averages nearly 6% for those over 55, as indicated by the 2020 data from the INSEE Employment Survey. This figure is well below the 15% of unemployed among 15-29 year olds for the same year. However, finding work after age 55 is much more difficult, if not, for some, impossible. Those over 55 can, however, bring all their vitality and experience to the world of work. To encourage seniors to return to work, the public authorities have implemented certain specific measures. Finding work after 55 can also be synonymous with creating your own business and embarking on the entrepreneurial world.
The situation is often unfortunately terrible for people aged 55 and over who find themselves unemployed and try their luck on the labor market:employers too often consider that they are too expensive compared to people without experience, overwhelmed in particular by new technologies used more and more in the world of work, or even more quite dynamic compared to younger employees.
In France, there are more than 900,000 unemployed people over the age of 50. And, as the Center for Labor and Employment Studies points out in one of its studies, “age has a negative effect on the chances of exiting unemployment into employment. […] In in other words, the unemployed are less and less likely to find a job as they get older". The organization thus indicates, for example, that a man aged 51 is 7% less likely to leave unemployment than a man aged 50, a proportion which rises to 6% for a woman.
Despite these unfortunate facts, finding a job after 55 can be a reality. This is a key moment in his professional life when it is undoubtedly time to question his wishes in terms of employment.
Tools exist to help in this direction, in particular people over 55 wishing to find a job. This is the case, for example, of the professional development advice system (CEP). This is a free and personalized support for those who want to take stock of their professional situation and which allows, among other things, to develop a strategy to define a professional project, check its feasibility, identify the necessary skills, etc. .
Different organizations, which vary according to your employment situation (private sector employee, public official, job seeker, self-employed) offer appointments with professional development advisers.
If you are 55 or over and looking for a job, you also have the option of using the skills assessment whether you are an employee or a job seeker. The purpose of this system is to analyze your professional and personal skills in detail and, ultimately, to list the conditions and means of finding a job according to your personalized profile. Putting these recommendations into practice usually gives good results in finding a new job. You can finance your skills assessment by mobilizing your personal training account (CPF).
Faced with the difficulty of finding a job after the age of 55, the public authorities have implemented measures to promote the employment of seniors.
This is the case, for example, of the "Senior fixed-term contract (CDD)" which derogates in particular from the rule of the classic CDD in terms of maximum possible duration. This type of contract is intended for people aged over 57, registered for more than 3 months with Pôle emploi or benefiting from a professional security contract (CSP) after an economic redundancy.
The CDD Senior (with a maximum duration of 18 months and renewable within the limit of 36 months) has, in fact, the main objective of allowing older job seekers to acquire additional rights with a view to the liquidation of their retirement.
Another example of a measure intended to facilitate the return to work of older people:an employer who hires a jobseeker aged 45 and over on a professionalization contract receives state aid of 2,000 euros.
Devices to put forward during their application or job interview by seniors looking for a job.
Beyond the measures intended to promote the return to work of older people, you should also know that there are online platforms specializing in connecting these job seekers and employers.
If finding a job after the age of 55 is not a simple thing, considering a professional retraining and, for example, embarking on the creation of your own business is a completely achievable objective and sometimes obvious after a balance sheet of skills or support from a professional development advisor! A solution adopted by many seniors looking for a job and who, in this way, have the possibility of concretizing a desire until now remained a utopia.
At 55, you can still count on a professional life of about 10 years, a period of time during which it is still possible to embark on an entrepreneurial project in accordance with your values, your passions, etc. The experience and know-how acquired throughout a professional career are significant assets for those aged 55 and over wishing to embark on such an adventure. A moment in life also when you can have financial capital that helps you start your own business, where you have also been able to build a professional network that can help develop your own business.
