Long-term Unemployment Over Men's Careers

The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report that examined long-term unemployment (more than 27 weeks), entry into and out of long-term spells of unemployment, and the effect of long-term unemployment on average wages. The period of study covered the mid-1980s through 2009. More than 22 percent of the men in the study experienced at least one long-term spell of unemployment from their labor market entry through 2009. On average, the first long-term unemployment spell lasted 55 weeks. The majority of men eventually found another job, although the average hourly wage declined more than 17 percent from two years before the beginning of the first long-term unemployment spell to the year after it began. Hourly wages began to trend upwards in the years following the first long-term unemployment spell. However, four years after onset of the first long-term unemployment spell, average hourly wages were still at seven percent below what they were four years before the spell began.