Long-term Unemployment

The odds you’ll join the ranks of the long-term unemployed, By Matt O’Brien, May 16, 2014, Washington Post: “Long-term unemployment is a terrifying trap that, even in the best of times, is difficult to escape. And it’s a trap that you can get stuck in for no reason other than bad luck. Today, there are still almost 3.5 million people who have been out of work for six months or longer and are looking for work. There isn’t a more urgent crisis, and there are three things you should keep in mind about it. 1. As former CEA Chair Alan Krueger found, the long-term unemployed aren’t much different from the short-term unemployed. They’re a little older and more of them are African-Americans, but they’re just about as educated and work in the same industries as everyone else who’s trying to find a job. 2. The long-term unemployed have a hard time getting companies to even look at their job applications, let alone hire them. . .”