Who Are the Long-Term Unemployed?

The Urban Institute released a report discussing the community of the long-term unemployed. Individuals who have been out of work for more than 26 weeks (the long-term unemployed) tend to be less educated and are more likely to be non-white, unmarried, disabled, impoverished, and to have worked previously in the construction industry and construction occupations. The long-term unemployed have much more in common with workers who are newly unemployed and workers who have become discouraged and dropped out of the labor force. This suggests that solutions to long-term unemployment may be effective for other workers who have experienced other forms of labor market distress.