Many older workers who have been laid off, or who previously retired and are returning to work, and can't find comparable positions are settling for entry level jobs.

A recent survey from CareerBuilder and Harris Interactive found that 63 percent of workers 55-years and older who were laid off during the last year have applied for jobs below the level at which they were previously employed.

About 44 percent of older workers said employers told them they were overqualified for the positions they were applying to. A related survey found that 26 percent of employers have received applications from workers older than 50, 7 percent have received applications from retirees and 7 percent have had older workers apply for internships.

About 65 percent of employers said they would consider experienced candidates for positions, even if they were overqualified. About 29 percent of employers said they had already hired a worker who was 50 or older within the last six months for a permanent entry-level to senior-level position.

Of the older workers who were laid off during the last year but lucky enough to find a new job, 48 percent took a pay cut, 40 percent found positions with similar pay and 13 percent managed to secure a pay raise.

Of the laid off older workers who have yet to find new jobs, 41 percent are considering relocating to another city or state to find work and 23 percent are thinking about starting their own business.

In addition, a lot of employers are receiving requests from workers hoping to stay with the company longer. About 21 percent of employers surveyed have current employees approaching retirement age who have asked to postpone their retirement during the last six months.

About 65 percent of employers said they are willing to postpone retirement to make use of the employee's intellectual capital, 61 percent said they would like older workers to help train and mentor others, 42 percent said these workers know how to weather a tough economy and 36 percent said it would give them more time to transition responsibilities.