Part-time work and the hiring of older workers

Heywood, John and Jirjahn, Uwe and Tsertsvadze, Georgi (2011) Part-time work and the hiring of older workers. Applied Economics, 43 (28). pp. 4239-4255. ISSN 0003-6846

Abstract

This research uses German establishment data to examine the relationship between back loading compensation, the hiring of older workers and their part time status. We confirm that establishments that defer compensation are less likely to hire older workers. We demonstrate for the first time that establishments that defer compensation are more likely to limit older workers to part time jobs, when they do hire them. Thus, deferred compensation plays a larger role in reducing the chances of older workers being hired into full time jobs than would be inferred from past estimates simply examining their odds of being hired at all.