Of the 3 million long-term jobless today, about one-third have been unemployed for more than two years, Labor Department data show. A small minority — roughly 100,000 Americans like Perry — have been actively looking for at least five years. They might be called the super long-term unemployed. While others have quit looking, taken early retirement or entered disability rolls, these workers have pressed on year after year despite the increasingly long odds of finding a new job. Extreme as their cases are, they reflect the devastating effects of the worst economic downturn in 75 years and how much the risks of being unemployed for extended periods have increased compared with the past. The longer people remain jobless, the more likely they are to suffer the scarring effects of unemployment that can hurt their earnings permanently and create a cycle of instability. Even as some get re-employed, research shows that many find themselves unemployed again before long. From 2008 to 2012, only 1 in 10 long-term unemployed person in a given month had returned to steady, full-time work a year later, according to a study by Princeton University economists. Just because you arent long-term unemployed doesnt mean you wont be tomorrow, said Justin Wolfers, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 18:32:33 +0000
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