For 60% of Employers, Age Is an Important Factor When Recruiting — a Study by JTI Ukraine

12/ 08/ 2026

Listen to online Stop   Six out of ten employers believe that age differences are an important factor in decision-making on whether to hire someone. Applicants aged 50+ are often assessed based on assumptions about their ability to adapt, learn, master digital tools and work intensively. It was evidenced by the research entitled “Labour Market After 50: What Employers Actually Think and What Can Be Done About It” and implemented by the Ukrainian Centre for Social Reforms under the Mykhaylo Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Life Quality Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. This research was part of the “Silver Economy of Ukraine: Potential of the 50+ Generation” public initiative that JTI Ukraine has launched to study labour market barriers and find solutions aimed at better leveraging the professional expertise of older people. The initiative is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine and the State Employment Service. Its qualitative stage included 120 in-depth interviews with representatives of 92 large and medium-sized companies from over 20 sectors of the economy. Employers list experience, responsibility, stability, discipline and emotional maturity as the strengths of employees aged 50+.  However, age-related stereotypes often drive hiring decisions. Candidates may be assessed based on assumptions about their work pace, digital skills, flexibility, ability to learn and willingness to change even prior to being met in person. Here are the key research findings: 60% of employers believed that age differences were an important hiring factor; 65% of them referred to poor digital literacy as one of the main barriers for older applicants; 3% of interviewees said that people aged 50+ were strongly capable of working intensively, while for applicants aged 35–40, this share was 52%; 1% of employers said that people aged 50+ were strongly capable of learning, while for the 35–40 age group, this share was 54%; 40% of employers primarily perceived older people as suited to blue-collar roles, with a further 32 % seeing them in technical roles; 88% of interviewees referred to intergenerational relations in teams as equal, while 10% of them recognised hidden tensions. The study has also revealed some forms of hidden ageism, from vacancies worded as suited for “young and dynamic” applicants to the actual exclusion of older people from being considered for certain posts. “As a market player and a responsible company, JTI Ukraine launched a public initiative entitled “Silver Economy of Ukraine: Potential of the 50+ Generation” to search, together with the government, businesses, experts and the civil society sector, for solutions that would help better engage this valuable human potential in the labour market for the benefit of people, businesses, and the government”, Svitlana Pylnieva, Deputy Director General for Human Resources at JTI Ukraine, said. The presentation of the research findings brought together representatives from the government, employees, academia and civil society. They discussed the role of the generation 50+ in the face of staff shortages, the impact of age-related stereotypes on employer decision-making and possible changes in the practices of hiring, training and work organisation. At its next stage, the initiative will uncover the experiences of people aged 50+. The representative quantitative research will include job search and employment, reasons for leaving the labour market, attitudes to learning, and expectations regarding employment conditions and formats. The findings of both stages will compare the views of employers and people aged 50+, reveal formal and informal barriers and establish an empirical foundation for future practical developments.

Six out of ten employers believe that age differences are an important factor in decision-making on whether to hire someone. Applicants aged 50+ are often assessed based on assumptions about their ability to adapt, learn, master digital tools and work intensively.

It was evidenced by the research entitled “Labour Market After 50: What Employers Actually Think and What Can Be Done About It” and implemented by the Ukrainian Centre for Social Reforms under the Mykhaylo Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Life Quality Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

This research was part of the “Silver Economy of Ukraine: Potential of the 50+ Generation” public initiative that JTI Ukraine has launched to study labour market barriers and find solutions aimed at better leveraging the professional expertise of older people. The initiative is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine and the State Employment Service.

Its qualitative stage included 120 in-depth interviews with representatives of 92 large and medium-sized companies from over 20 sectors of the economy.

Employers list experience, responsibility, stability, discipline and emotional maturity as the strengths of employees aged 50+.  However, age-related stereotypes often drive hiring decisions. Candidates may be assessed based on assumptions about their work pace, digital skills, flexibility, ability to learn and willingness to change even prior to being met in person.

Here are the key research findings:

• 60% of employers believed that age differences were an important hiring factor;
• 65% of them referred to poor digital literacy as one of the main barriers for older applicants;
• 3% of interviewees said that people aged 50+ were strongly capable of working intensively, while for applicants aged 35–40, this share was 52%;
• 1% of employers said that people aged 50+ were strongly capable of learning, while for the 35–40 age group, this share was 54%;
• 40% of employers primarily perceived older people as suited to blue-collar roles, with a further 32 % seeing them in technical roles;
• 88% of interviewees referred to intergenerational relations in teams as equal, while 10% of them recognised hidden tensions.

The study has also revealed some forms of hidden ageism, from vacancies worded as suited for “young and dynamic” applicants to the actual exclusion of older people from being considered for certain posts.

“As a market player and a responsible company, JTI Ukraine launched a public initiative entitled “Silver Economy of Ukraine: Potential of the 50+ Generation” to search, together with the government, businesses, experts and the civil society sector, for solutions that would help better engage this valuable human potential in the labour market for the benefit of people, businesses, and the government”, Svitlana Pylnieva, Deputy Director General for Human Resources at JTI Ukraine, said.

The presentation of the research findings brought together representatives from the government, employees, academia and civil society. They discussed the role of the generation 50+ in the face of staff shortages, the impact of age-related stereotypes on employer decision-making and possible changes in the practices of hiring, training and work organisation.

At its next stage, the initiative will uncover the experiences of people aged 50+. The representative quantitative research will include job search and employment, reasons for leaving the labour market, attitudes to learning, and expectations regarding employment conditions and formats.

The findings of both stages will compare the views of employers and people aged 50+, reveal formal and informal barriers and establish an empirical foundation for future practical developments.