Recession Brings Long-Term Unemployment

This week, Veronique de Rugy examines one of the most dramatic recession economic trends – the rise in long-term unemployment. According to seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, last month, over 44.1% of unemployed workers (6.5 million workers) had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more; at the start of 2008, 18.3% of unemployed workers fell into this category. Importantly, these measures of unemployment exclude workers who want employment but were, for various reasons, not included in BLS’s unemployment calculations – an estimated 5.8 million workers.

This trend has continued un-flagged despite numerous jobs bills and policy interventions.