When Job Security Isn’t Secure Anymore

There was a time when hard work, higher education, and accumulated experience were seen as one-way tickets to career stability. We trusted that if we showed up, gave our all, and built a strong résumé, job security or at least a quick rehire was guaranteed.

Those days are fading. Today’s workplace is fluid and unforgiving, tenure isn’t protection, loyalty isn’t assured, and even the most seasoned professionals can find themselves unexpectedly laid off. In a world where companies downsize, automate, and restructure frequently, even the best employees live with a precarious sense of security.

The New Reality: A Job Is Not Income Security

It’s time to retire the belief that “having a job equals income security.” The facts tell a different story:

• Workers aged 55 and older often face 4 to 6 months and sometimes up to a year between jobs if laid off (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024).
• Older workers often face significant wage reductions when reemployed. A recent analysis found that re-employed older workers experience an average 11% pay cut, with men seeing a 15% drop and women a 7% drop (Wall Street Journal, 2024).
• 65% of HR professionals say new hires are the most likely to be cut first during layoffs (NBC Bay Area, 2023).
• Underemployment affects many workers over 45. According to AARP, a significant portion of employees aged 45 and older experience underemployment, working part-time, in lower-skilled roles, or earning less than their skills and experience warrant (AARP, 2023).

Having a job is no longer the same thing as having financial stability.

Why Is This Happening?

Several disruptive forces are reshaping the employment landscape:

• Mergers & acquisitions often trigger large-scale layoffs.
• Outsourcing of finance, marketing, HR, and other services has made many roles replaceable and location-agnostic.
• Artificial Intelligence is automating skilled tasks, shrinking job opportunities.
• Downsizing keeps companies lean and costs low.
• Tenured employees are more expensive, and with modern systems, they’re no longer the only keepers of institutional knowledge.

Even the most valuable employees can find themselves on the chopping block not because of performance, but because of strategy and cost.

What Happens Next?

For many displaced workers, the journey follows a familiar, difficult path:

1. Search for a new role - often submitting dozens, even hundreds, of applications. One survey found 53% of laid-off workers submitted over 50 applications, and 1 in 5 submitted more than 100 (CNBC, 2024).
2. Dip into savings - with 62% tapping emergency funds and 54% relying on credit or loans to cover expenses during unemployment (CNBC, 2024).
3. Accept a pay cut - nearly half of workers over 45 do so, and that number jumps past 60% if the job search lasts over six months (Wall Street Journal, 2024).
4. Retrain for a new industry - pivoting into sectors like healthcare, technology, logistics, or AI-related development & support.

And increasingly, some professionals decide to stop leaving their future in someone else’s hands altogether.

The Case for Business Ownership

Owning a business isn’t without risk, but when you try to eliminate all risk, you also eliminate opportunities. What ownership offers that even the most “secure” job can’t is control. Control over your income, your career direction, and your future.

Why Franchises Are a Smart Pivot

Franchises bridge the gap between employment and entrepreneurship, providing structure, brand power, and training. Many franchisors seek leaders, managers, and problem-solvers rather than industry insiders. They provide the training needed to operate within their proven model.

With franchising:

• You step into a proven business model with branding, systems, and support already in place.
• You receive industry-specific training from day one; learning while you build.
• Your transferable skills, leadership, operations, financial oversight become your competitive edge.
• You reskill while owning something that belongs to you, instead of reskilling for someone else’s bottom line.
• You have the potential to build wealth, control your income directly, and create a sellable asset for the future.

Why Now Is the Time to Take Control Over Your Destiny

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that the traditional career path is no longer a straight road. It’s a winding, unpredictable trail with sudden turns. Layoffs can happen without warning. Even those who land new jobs can find themselves in another round of cuts shortly after they’ve unpacked their desk.

That’s not just stressful. It’s unsustainable. 

Starting a business, especially through a proven franchise model allows you to trade uncertainty for ownership and instability for direction. You can build an income stream you control, in an industry you can be trained to succeed in, while creating a valuable asset for your future.

The job market will continue to change, but the decision to take control of your career will always be yours. The sooner you take control, the sooner you decide where you’re headed. Instead of waiting to see where you’ll be sent next.

Sources

Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024). “Displaced Workers Summary.” U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/displaced-workers-summary.htm

Wall Street Journal (2024). “Late-Career Layoffs and Wage Impacts.” https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement/heres-what-a-late-career-layoff-looks-like-in-america-in-5-charts-63f5c809

NBC Bay Area (2023). “New Hires at Higher Layoff Risk.” https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/business/money-report/if-youre-a-new-hire-youre-more-likely-to-be-laid-off-a-harvard-experts-no-1-way-to-rebound/3209278/

AARP (2023). “Underemployment and Age 45+ Workers.” https://www.aarp.org/work/age-discrimination/underemployment-traps-older-workers/

CNBC (2024). “Job Search and Application Statistics for Laid-Off Workers.” https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/13/1-in-5-laid-off-workers-submitted-over-100-applications-before-finding-a-job-new-report.html