As a Partner at an Executive Search Firm, I frequently recruit and speak with professionals at the (Non-Executive) Board level. In recent months, something has shifted in the conversations I’m having.

Today, I had lunch with an accomplished COO. He’s looking for a job and is open to anything from Manager to CEO level, interim or permanent. To my surprise, he seemed already jobless for over a year. And this isn’t just anyone—he’s an intelligent man with a London Business School MBA and experience in both strategy consulting and board roles.

On a Monday evening, I was having a glass of wine with a friend. She’s a Senior VP looking for a position as General Counsel. She studied Law at Cambridge and is highly experienced. Since her job search hasn’t been successful so far, she’s expanded her scope to roles across Europe. She’s currently applying in London, with plans to stay in a hotel three nights a week and commute back and forth between Amsterdam and London weekly.

Last week, during an Extended Friends Dinner, I spoke with two Senior Directors from from Consumer Product multinationals. We discussed the current job market. One of them mentioned knowing a VP who had been offered a demotion to Director at their company. The other added that they also knew someone who had just accepted a demotion.

More and more often, I’m being approached by senior executives from the corporate world. They can’t find a job and are sometimes hopeless. They don’t understand it—after all, isn’t the labor market supposed to be booming? Why can’t they find work?

The assumption at the top of the job market is that the labor shortage means they’ll quickly land a new position. People from Shell, Philips, and McKinsey, for example, have voluntarily stepped forward during reorganizations. They’re surprised when they don’t immediately find a new job. One woman resigned to take a three-month cooking workshop, expecting to land an exciting new role right after. They’re in for a rude awakening. After numerous reorganizations at companies like Friesland Campina, Shell, Unilever, Signify, Nike, Philips, and McKinsey, there’s a surplus of strong candidates on the market. However, the number of available positions has declined, making a quick job transition far from guaranteed.

What I haven’t seen reported anywhere is that certain groups face higher unemployment rates than others. With so many Senior Directors and VPs approaching me in their job search, I started having coffee chats with people responsible for large-scale reorganizations at various corporates. What I discovered is that during these reorganizations, a disproportionate number of Senior Directors and VPs have been laid off compared to other levels. These individuals are relatively expensive, not covered by collective labor agreements, and thus easier to dismiss without too much hassle. Remaining Managers and Directors often take on more responsibility with smaller teams.

By cutting costs through the elimination of a management layer, a relatively large number of Senior Directors and VPs have entered the job market—without corresponding vacancies. As a result, I see noticeably higher unemployment specifically within this group. What I wonder is, what will the ripple effect be when the upper echelon of society starts facing financial difficulties? If the top stops renovating their homes, taking expensive vacations, or dining out, what impact will that have on the economy and, eventually, on employment opportunities for other layers of society?

Laurie Jansen is the Managing Partner at Executive Search Bureau Jansen & Bilgin International. She earned her MSc in International Business from Tilburg University and focuses on helping companies increase female representation at the top.

* Decreasing labor market tightness gives ECB room to cut interest rates.

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