A record 30 percent of US unemployed out of work at least a year
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
8 October 2010 A record 30% — or 4.4 million — of the nation’s 14.7 million unemployed workers were out of work at least a year in August, up from 23% in December, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday by Pew Economic Policy Group. The figures are not seasonally adjusted. The ranks of the severely long-term unemployed have remained stubbornly high in recent months, even amid a noteworthy drop in the number of all long-term unemployed Americans — those out of work six months or longer. Put another way, a hefty share of the long-term unemployed — 71% — were out of work at least a year in August, up from 48% a year earlier, BLS figures show. The data underscore a harsh reality: Many of the long-term unemployed will struggle to find work even after the job market picks up, and some will never work again. “The longer you’re out of work, the harder it is” to get a job, says Scott Greenberger, a Pew senior officer and author of the report. Overall,non-farm payrolls shrunk by 95,000 jobs in September after a decline in government employment of 159,000, and the jobless rate remained 9.6%. On Thursday the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell 11,000 to 445,000 the week ending Oct. 2, beating estimates. The Pew report shows severe long-term unemployment is taking a growing toll on younger workers. Nearly 37% of those unemployed a year or longer were in the 35-44 age group, up from 22% in December, the Pew study says. And while a college education makes workers less vulnerable to layoffs, it doesn’t fend off long-term unemployment for those who lose jobs. About 34% of unemployed workers with bachelor’s degrees have been jobless a year or longer vs. 36% of unemployed high school graduates. …
