SFGate.com: As of August 2014 three million Americans had been unemployed for more than six months. Over two million have been unemployed for more than a year.
The only incremental improvement: the percentage of those out of work and looking for the past six months or more has declined, from 46% of the total unemployed in 2010, to 33 percent now. In California (excepting the Bay Area’s bubble economy) the percentage is closer to 40 percent.
The plight of the long term unemployed — highest in the 45-59 age group – remains “among the most persistent, negative effects of the Great Recession.” In percentage terms, it’s still the highest since the Great Depression, says the John J Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University in a report published today.
The long-lasting trend indicates ”that the ranks of the long-term unemployed may remain high for months or years even if the economy continues to improve,” says the report based on a survey of 852 employed and unemployed workers between July 21 and August 3.
Close to half of those who have found jobs are being paid less, working part-time, or otherwise experiencing “a step down” from their job 5 years ago.
Their living standards, and feelings about the present and the future, are very much in line with earlier findings on the mood of American workers.
See also:
- The Obama Economy: America’s GDP shrank nearly 3%
- U.S. economy is not recovering. It’s SHRINKING
- The Obama Economy: Hamburger flippers are older and college-educated
- Nearly half of U.S. college graduates can find only low-wage jobs
DCG