At one point in her career, Amy Anderson supervised more than 50 people and managed a multimillion dollar budget for a Fortune 500 company. But after losing what she calls her “last good job” in 2013, she had no luck finding a position with anywhere near the same pay or status she once enjoyed.

Now, at age 57, she’s a cashier at a convenience store in the greater Cincinnati area, earning minimum wage with no benefits.

Anderson’s experience is not unique. Job opportunities are limited for older people seeking employment. According to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, job changers over age 50 often end up shunted into what economist Matthew S. Rutledge calls “old-person” jobs: low-status, low-paying positions such as school crossing guards, nurses’ aides, security guards, delivery drivers and retail clerks. Occupations that require extensive training, computer use, numerical aptitude and union membership are significantly less open to older job seekers.

“We definitely believe that age discrimination and stereotyping is a big part of it,” Rutledge says. “In some cases it’s voluntary; older people may choose jobs that are less stressful or less physically demanding. But often it’s not.”

Older workers are often the first to be let go and have the hardest time finding another job.

Among jobs that are physically demanding, like farmer, electrician or repair person, only about a quarter of new hires are over 50. And in fields where jobs are scarce, older workers have an extremely difficult time finding work. In manufacturing—long a declining industry in the United States—men and women 55 to 64 were 25 percent less likely to be hired as machine operators and 58 percent less likely to land metal-worker jobs, compared to their younger peers.

Rutledge does caution that the Boston College study is skewed, in that it looks only at those who found jobs (the “winners” in the job market). In many cases, older workers don’t find work at all. Job seekers 55 and older are more likely to join the ranks of the long-term unemployed—those who’ve been looking for work for 27 weeks or more. In October 2017, 34.7 percent of job seekers 55 and older were long-term unemployed, compared with 23.7 percent of job seekers 16 to 54.

And many older job seekers who do find work are underemployed, ending up with jobs that offer lower pay, fewer hours and limited benefits, according to a 2015 AARP report, “The Long Road Back: Struggling to Find Work after Unemployment.”

Many older workers face a triple whammy: they’re often the first to go when companies make cutbacks, because seniority means their salaries are higher than those of their younger counterparts. Then they have the hardest time finding new jobs, at a time in life when they can often least afford it, when they’re also paying kids’ college tuition, or for care for aging parents. Mortgages aren’t yet paid up and retirement looms just a few years away.

Perception Problem

Why? Older workers face a perception problem, according to Beverley Riddick, executive director of the Ready To Work Business Collaborative, a nonprofit based in New York that encourages employers to hire talent they may have overlooked in traditional recruitment, including older workers.

Hiring managers may assume that an older job seeker is stuck in old habits or “won’t play well” with a supervisor who is the same age as his or her children. Riddick recalls the experience of a 60-something job candidate who felt he’d nailed a job interview—until the considerably younger hiring manager walked him out. Looking around at the office’s open layout, the hiring manager turned to the candidate and asked, “Do you think you’d fit in here?”

“At that moment, the candidate knew then that he wasn’t going to get the job, and he never heard back,” Riddick says.

The New Start Career Network, which serves long-term unemployed job seekers 45 and up in New Jersey, identified a list of stereotypes that contribute to the problem: the beliefs that older workers are not interested in acquiring new skills; that they lack ambition and energy and have cognitive or physical health challenges; that they are inflexible and less tech savvy; and that they will cost more in wages and health insurance.

There are times when being better educated limits an older person’s job prospects.

Even the hiring process itself puts older adults at a disadvantage, according to Claire Turner, director of the senior employment program at the Senior Source in Dallas. Many companies now use impersonal digital tools, like keyword searches, to screen resumes. Job seekers who don’t know how to work the system, or whose qualifications don’t fit preset, and sometimes arbitrary, requirements, end up eliminated before a human being even sees their resumes. For example, when an employer posts a job opening for candidates with three to five years of experience, the computer-based screening process may automatically filter out qualified people who happen to have more years of experience.

Older job hunters who do get past the computer screening process often don’t get past the first interview. Employers usually won’t say why they didn’t hire someone, and they’re particularly careful not to mention age. But older job candidates often sense a hiring manager’s dismay when they meet.

“The person turns up for the interview, and the hiring manager—someone in his 30s—will say something like, ‘Are you going to be able to get up these stairs in the lobby?’” Turner says.

Education Helps—Maybe

Older workers with the least education face the narrowest set of opportunities, according to the Boston College study. Anderson believes that was part of her problem: she lacks a college degree. She was able to prove herself in the workplace, but in the job market, that missing degree automatically disqualifies her for many jobs.

Paradoxically, however, education can also limit an older job seeker. After George Delianides, 60, of Saugus, MA, lost his position at age 58 at a marketing research firm, he decided to take his master’s degree off his resume.

“My thinking was, that omission might help get my foot in the door for at least an interview,” he said. “Otherwise the employer could assume that, with my age, experience and formal education, I was way out of their salary range.”

Riddick says that’s a common drawback for many older workers.

“Employers tend to back away from people who’ve earned higher salaries in the past,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘I’m not going to interview someone who made $125,000, because I’m only paying $75,000,’ even though that older job seeker might happily take that lower salary because of financial responsibilities.”

It’s Not Just about the Paycheck

When older workers are unemployed or underemployed, it’s not just their personal finances that suffer. Employment means more than a paycheck. Work offers routine, purpose and a social environment, all linked to better physical and emotional health.

“I’ve met some accomplished, wonderful people who feel unemployable for the first time in their lives,” Turner says. “It can be very discouraging.”

Anderson notes that, when her four children were young, her prospects for promotion were sometimes limited because she was unable to travel extensively.

“Now, I’m an empty nester, and I can put in those extra hours, but I can’t find a good job,” she said.

The good news: some major companies now offer internships or training programs meant for older people.

She adds that, if she were fully employed, she’d continue paying the maximum amount into social security until age 65 or later. Now, she’s draining her retirement savings to make ends meet and will likely need to start collecting benefits at the earliest possible date.

Most older Americans are already behind on saving for retirement; if they lose several prime earning years, they’ll fall even farther behind. That has negative implications for society as a whole.

“When older people start to deplete their own resources near retirement age, it makes them even more reliant on whatever federal or state backdrops are available,” says Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s chief financial analyst.

Reasons for Hope

Not every company is unwilling to hire older workers. Some are actually taking strides to embrace their job experience and finding creative new ways to bring them back into the workforce.

Some major companies are offering internship or training programs specifically geared toward older employees. Many focus on professionals who’ve taken career breaks, such as parents who left to raise children. Goldman Sachs, for example, hosts a “returnship,” a highly selective, 10-week program that pays competitive salaries to qualified candidates, most of them 40 or older, who had achieved an executive-level status in their earlier career and who had been out of work at least two years.

“Internships help remove some of perceived risk that hiring managers may associate with hiring from this pool, and they give the participants a gradual and structured ramping-up platform,” writes Carol Fishman Cohen, CEO of iRelaunch, a company that works with professionals seeking to return to work, as well as with employers recruiting from this demographic group.

Some career experts advise proceeding with caution, however: not all internships pay, and they don’t always lead to permanent jobs.

The Senior Source’s Turner thinks she’s beginning to see an attitude change, especially among employers in smaller and medium-sized companies.

“They appreciate older workers’ work ethic and their reliability,” she says. “Employers are clamoring for people who are good with customers, and many people over 50 have those interpersonal skills.”

Focusing on those strengths, Delianides believes, is what helped him land another good job despite his age. His new position in marketing at a retail firm is roughly equivalent to his previous job in terms of responsibility. His pay is lower, but he didn’t expect to match his previous salary, given that he doesn’t have 18 years of seniority with the new employer.

“I played to my strengths,” he says. “I know the business. I’ve been in stressful situations before. I can be counted on.”

But for others like Anderson—who recently learned that the convenience store where she works will close soon—the inability to find a good job weighs heavily as they look to the future.

She’s taking it day by day, which keeps her focused, she says, adding, “Thinking ten years out overwhelms me.”

When Kerri Couillard founded Babierge, she expected the business would mostly attract young families who were traveling. The Albuquerque-based fledgling company connects people who need baby gear for a few days with those who have equipment to rent.

Couillard was surprised when, instead, many of her customers were people like Yvonne Mull: a 78-year-old Santa Fe grandmother who rents baby gear for just a few days here and there when her grandson comes to visit. 

“I don’t want to buy it and I don’t want to store it,” Mull said. “This works perfectly for me.”

Older customers are surprising many companies that, like Babierge, are part of the sharing economy, in which people rent out rooms, cars, boats and other assets, or buy and sell services directly from each other, all connected by way of the Internet. Also known as the gig economy or the on-demand economy, it includes businesses like the home-sharing enterprise Airbnb and the ride-hailing service Uber.

While many of these companies assumed that their customer base would be dominated by millennials, “It turns out that the baby boomer generation is a big user of the on-demand economy,” said Rowan Benecke, global technology practice chair for public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.

25 percent of Americans who are 55 or older say they’re providing services in the sharing economy.

In conjunction with the Aspen Institute and Time magazine, Burson-Marsteller developed a survey in late 2015 that revealed that 29 percent of people over age 60 have used sharing-economy services, just slightly more than the 28 percent noted in the 50-59 age group.

The fact that older adults are getting involved is good news, because the sharing economy now occupies a significant and growing position in the United States.  PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates that the sharing economy totaled $15 billion in 2014—and will grow to $335 billion by 2025.

“Companies are realizing that there’s still an untapped market among older adults, and that paying attention to this market segment is a good idea,” Benecke said. “Older adults do have a lot of purchasing power.”

Many people, like Linda and Richard Barnhart, ages 69 and 71, of Scroggins, TX, find that the sharing economy offers benefits like convenience and good prices. The Barnharts learned about Airbnb from their daughter and used the service to rent privately owned homes in San Diego and near Yosemite for recent trips with friends.

“You get much better accommodations for a lesser price,” Linda Barnhart said. “In each instance, we were able to rent an entire house, rather than just a couple of hotel rooms. It worked out great.”

More than Bargains

Some observers believe the sharing economy offers even more than bargains and convenience; they believe that services provided on demand could create a new, cost-effective avenue for older adults to stay independent longer.

“Use TaskRabbit to get help around the house, use Instacart to deliver your groceries, use Uber to drive you to your medical appointments; the list goes on,” says Glenn Carter, a blogger at the Casual Capitalist.

Having convenient access to these services, at a reasonable price, could be a game changer, allowing older adults to avoid or postpone moving into assisted living.

“When you compare the cost of a mortgage with the cost of assisted living facilities, in some cases it can make more financial sense to use those services and age in place, rather than move to a facility, depending on the level of care required, of course,” said Nela Richardson, PhD, chief economist for national real estate brokerage Redfin.

And Dr. Joseph Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, thinks ride-sharing services could help solve the critical problem of transportation that plagues many older adults.

“Uber improves on cabs in a few critical ways—loved ones can track Uber cars’ progress, for instance—and other, smaller services go even further,” he writes in a blog post. He points to SilverRide and Lift Hero, which match older passengers with drivers who are willing and trained to provide extra service, such as assisting customers to and from their doors, or accompanying them on doctors’ visits.

Participating in the sharing economy gives older people with a way to earn extra cash—and, just as important, to stay active and engaged.

However, not everyone sees the sharing economy as a panacea.

“Seniors 75 and up are less likely to use a smartphone, and most of these services depend on that,” said Laurie Orlov, blogger for the Aging in Place Technology Watch. A 2015 Pew study found that, while nearly two-thirds of all Americans have a smartphone, only about a quarter of adults 65 and older own one. (Some 78 percent of older adults do own cell phones, but they tend to be more basic devices, the study noted.)

Already, though, some companies are finding ways to get around the smartphone gap.

GreatCall, which markets Jitterbug cell phones and medical alert products to older people, recently announced GreatCall Rides, a pilot program in five markets (California, Florida, Arizona, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, and Chicago) with significant populations of older adults. GreatCall customers simply press 0 to call an operator on their Jitterbug phone and order a Lyft ride; GreatCall adds the cost of the ride (plus a nominal fee) to the customer’s monthly bill. No cash is involved.

“Even among those older adults who do use a smartphone, the comfort level with the technology may still be a barrier,” said Gyre Renwick, head of healthcare enterprise partnerships at Lyft. “They may not be comfortable downloading and using an app, for example. By offering another option, we took away that barrier.”

For those who do own smartphones but lack confidence using apps, Lyft has an ambassador program. Jeff Roberts, a Lyft driver in Fort Worth, TX, visits independent living communities to get the word out and to provide “tech support.” He hosts learning sessions to give hands-on guidance and pamphlets with step-by-step instructions for using the app.

Roberts saw the opportunity for serving an older customer base after watching his grandmother discover Lyft. “She no longer drives but with Lyft can get her hair done each week and run errands,” he said.

Getting in on the Game

Some companies see an even bigger business opportunity in wooing older adults to provide services as “offerors” in the sharing economy.

Uber estimates that one in four of its drivers is 50 and older. A study by Airbnb showed that hosts 60 and older represent its fastest-growing age demographic; women 60 and up earn a higher percentage of five-star reviews (top reviews) than any other age and gender combination. And DogVacay, which pairs pet sitters with pet owners, estimates that 25 percent of its sitters are 50 and older.

Many older Americans have acquired assets—such as rooms in a large home or an extra car—that end up unused after the kids have moved out or they’ve stopped commuting to work. Companies like Airbnb and RelayRides (a car-sharing service) “let seniors monetize assets that would otherwise be gathering dust,” said Coughlin of AgeLab.

Participating as offerors also provides a way to earn extra cash—and, just as important, to stay active and engaged. Research suggests that people who become isolated in their later years don’t live as long or fare as well, health-wise, as those with strong social networks.

The sharing economy has opened new connections, both human and canine, for retired handyman Jon Palmer, 60, of Plano, TX. Palmer was devastated when his own dog, a black lab named Gracie, passed away two years ago. Later, when a lost black lab wandered onto his front porch, he took it as a sign.

“I had the best time caring for my new friend while waiting for her family to pick her up,” Palmer said. “I knew then where my next path would take me.”

Sharing-economy companies, created by young visionaries, could ultimately change the lives of older adults profoundly.

Now he offers dog boarding and day care out of his home by way of DogVacay.com. His wife works during the day, so this gives him canine companionship as well as a way to bring home some cash.

In meeting new clients, “I feel as if I make new friends every week doing this,” he said. “And I’m not the type to sit and watch TV all day.” Another bonus: while sitting jobs keep him busy, they don’t require Palmer to climb on ladders or to work outdoors in hot weather, as his previous job often did.

Palmer is part of a growing trend. An April 2015 report from PwC estimated that, while 7 percent of all Americans consider themselves providers in the sharing economy, of those ages 55 and up, 25 percent do.

However, Palmer doesn’t face one of the biggest downsides of the gig economy, given that his wife still works full time. For most, the work doesn’t provide the safety net that full-time employment does. Income often fluctuates, and the work doesn’t come with health insurance or other benefits.

While it’s clear that older adults are taking on gig-economy jobs, “what’s not clear is whether they’re doing this because they’re semiretired and value freedom and flexibility, or because they’ve been downsized out of a full-time, full-benefit job and have to settle for contract work,” says Bloomberg View blogger Justin Fox.

For those who do have a safety net—Social Security for income and Medicare for health insurance—doing jobs “on demand” offers a way to stay active, earn some extra cash and keep a flexible schedule. Or put another way, adults who remain able and willing to work may be the best positioned segment to work in the on-demand economy.

Room for Growth

While many older adults do use the sharing economy, experts agree there are still untapped avenues for increased usage among older adults. The Burson-Marsteller survey revealed two factors that may keep seniors out of the sharing economy: awareness and trust.

“Only 20 percent of the people surveyed, ages 60 and up, were familiar with the term ‘sharing economy,’” Benecke said. “There’s an opportunity for these companies to raise the awareness and to educate older potential customers about the services they are providing.”

Perception is also an issue, said Michelle Barnhart, associate professor of marketing at Oregon State University, who has studied consumers age 80 and up. “There’s a perceived difference between the shared economy versus the more heavily regulated, commercialized economy that we’ve all become accustomed [to]. We tend to feel like a company that watches its employees and is bonded and licensed and insured is a safer option than a peer-to-peer exchange.”

Still, Barnhart turned her parents, Linda and Richard, on to Airbnb, and she suspects that’s how many older adults initially connect to the sharing economy—through word-of-mouth by way of children or other trusted friends and relatives.

For the older Barnharts, the smartphone piece wasn’t an issue because they both retired recently from jobs that required them to use technology. However, that could be a barrier for her peers, Linda Barnhart believes. 

If businesses can help overcome these barriers to connect with older adults, they stand to profit. While sharing-economy companies were created by a younger generation of tech visionaries—with young, urban consumers in mind—they could ultimately change the lives of older adults most profoundly.

Says blogger Glenn Carter, “Where the sharing economy really stands out is its ability to keep [older adults] social and to help them live more independently.