Job Seekers Have A New Worry: Unemployment Bias
Oren Liebermann reports...
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- At the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, looking for a job is full-time work.
"I know I can do a job," says Craig Davis, who's been out of work for two years.
Davis is one of 14 million unemployed Americans. So, he sits at the Unemployment Project with a college degree, hammering out job applications, and waiting like everyone else here to get some attention.
"I just keep on putting it out. I heard something on the news about Macy's, so I'll go back to retail," said Davis.
Job hunters face a new challenge now: discrimination against the unemployed. Some online job ads are only looking for applicants who have had work recently. The president wants to ban this sort of discrimination.
"We still have this stigma against people who are unemployed, especially people who are getting unemployment benefits," said Ahnivah Williams, a job developer at the Unemployment Information Center.
Nadina Patterson volunteers at the Unemployment Project, helping others create resumes and find jobs.
"Everyday, it's a day of looking for jobs all the time," said Patterson.
She has a part-time job but is still waiting for that full-time phone call. She says she has seen age discrimination in her own search. Unemployment bias is new to her, but after being out of work for a year, she worries she is a target.
Williams says the most important thing you can do if you have a gap on your resume is to find some activity to fill it, and it can be as simple as volunteering or taking a class.
Reported by Oren Liebermann, CBS3
