Job market's middle-age crisis, 35-year-olds at risk

China is planning to raise retirement age to accommodate a fast aging population, but those aged over 35 years are facing the heat because of a hiring age limit set up by many enterprises that prefer younger employees.

It indeed makes sense for companies to hire young people considering their lower maintenance cost and higher stamina. However, this will lead to wastage of experienced labor force, while giving rise to an extremely imbalanced work structure: what if people aged 35 and over can't find jobs despite a shrinking labor force and higher retirement age?

To begin with, enterprises' age bias and prejudice against older job applicants must stop. Except for some jobs, such as that of flight attendants, nurses and building workers, companies better evaluate job applicants according to their caliber, instead of age, looks or other factors.

Candidates who are aged 35 and over are more experienced and tend to rise to a challenge since they have chosen to hunt for or change job at a higher age. They can help build the company's competitiveness in a way younger applicants can't, which could turn out to be much more valuable than the initial labor cost. Companies themselves can benefit by doing away with insensitive and blind limits they have set with long-term development in mind.

Besides, legislative measures should be introduced to prohibit discrimination on grounds of age at the workplace. At present China's Labor Law has no such provision, the absence of which has indulged companies' bias against older workers. The laws and rules should be improved to better protect their interests.

Besides, people themselves should have a clear understanding of the age crisis, which is not only real but also difficult to combat. They should hone their skills to keep up with the requirements of the job market.

Getting rid of the prejudice against age will benefit not only employers and employees, but also the whole country in its battle against aging and in the path to modernization. It should be put on the table now.

The author is a writer with China Daily.