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Comment by readams | Hacker News Reader

This is a sign the economy is nearing full employment when previously marginalized workers are suddenly treated well. In fact we may already be at employment numbers that past what economists would call a sustainable full employment rate. We should expect higher wage growth and higher inflation in the short term.

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"This is a sign the economy is nearing full employment when previously marginalized workers are suddenly treated well."

Another explanation is that jobs have become harder to fill, and that's why companies are treating previously marginalized workers well. They know if they don't they'll have a hard time finding people to replace them.

Or it could just be that employers are now starting to realize the value of older, more mature, and more experienced workers.

Or maybe they're rejecting ageism as discriminatory, and want to treat everyone more fairly. Attitudes towards discrimination have certainly changed greatly over time, and a lot of discriminatory activity has become much less acceptable than it once was.

The explanations probably vary from company to company, from person to person, and from time to time. I'd be curious to interview hiring managers and older employees about this to get their take on it.

Hard to fill jobs are associated with elevated employee benefits.

I see tons of ageism, across many industries.

Those same ageists will kowtow to anyone that can fit the role they're trying to fill.

What I wonder about this: What should we make of it about the people who "are no longer in the market." The people who have been unemployed based the cut-off.

Unemployment is measured in a length of time since their last position. Not the total amount of unworking people.

Measures that can capture some of what you're looking for are "U-6 unemployment," which includes discouraged workers as well as those actively looking, as well as the labor force participation rate. U-6 has been showing steady improvement and nearing 30-year lows (from late 90s). Participation rates have been on a decline though for quite some time, but this includes people who don't want to or can't work. One thing we saw during the great recession is a huge increase in permanent disability applications.

Or, maybe, gasp companies are realizing that senior guidance is particularly important amongst all these self-entitled millennials.

>senior guidance is particularly important amongst all these self-entitled millennials.

Probably not great to generalize "millennials".

Probably not great to say over 50 are Marginalized

Or maybe, gasp, companies knew this all along, but they base their salary offers on “market rate” not value added.

They were able to get away with paying senior employees less for a how because that market was scared.

maybe for a bit until the fed plays economy / wage growth wack a mole by raising interest rates. one of their main decisions for raising rates is they see inflation in wage growth. call me cave man, but i think its kind of sick.

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