Majority Agenda Project

What are the real effects of long-term unemployment? The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article "Recession Strikes Deep Into Work Force."

"The nation's 9.7% unemployment rate tells only part of the recession's story, according to a new study that found more than half of adults in the U.S. labor force have suffered a spell of unemployment, a pay cut or reduction in work hours. Middle-age workers—50 to 64 years old—are most likely to have taken a hit in the last 30 months of the downturn, a group normally at the peak of its earning potential ...

"Those without jobs are enduring the longest spells of unemployment recorded in modern history. The typical unemployed worker today has been out of work for nearly six months, almost double the previous post-World War II peak—12.3 weeks in 1982-83...

"Long-term unemployment is associated with severe breaks in career paths and erosion in income, health and other aspects of well-being."