10 Depressing Charts About Long-Term Unemployment

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Even as the unemployment rate falls, America’s long-term unemployment problem isn’t going anywhere.The Pew centre defines long-term unemployment as “a jobless period of a year or longer.”

By the end of 2011, 4 million workers had been without work for at least a year, making up 31 per cent of the unemployed labour force. 

To better understand long-term unemployment, we’ve compiled some charts from the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative, The Hamilton Project, Bureau of labour Statistics and the centre for Economic and Policy Research. 

Your chances of finding a job decreases about 7% each month during the first year of unemployment

Between 2009 and 2011, long-term unemployment doubled from 16% to 31.8%

Since the recession, long-term unemployment has risen for workers between the ages of 16 to 64

Workers without a high school degree are three times more likely to be long-term unemployed

The number of permanent layoffs have jumped significantly, to a high of 54% in 2009

By the end of 2011, 2.8 per cent of unemployed workers had been out of a job for at least a year, the highest number since World War II

Young adults are more likely to be unemployed, but they also find it much easier to get hired again.

One-third of long-term unemployed workers have bachelor degrees

In order to reach pre-recession job levels, the economy needs to add around 208,000 jobs every month for the gap to close in 12 years

Spending on unemployment cost the government a projected $120 billion in 2011

So who are these people who can't find jobs?

11 Stories Of Long-Term Unemployment In America >

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