U.S. Long-Term Unemployment Hits 25% as Slow Hiring Traps Job Seekers
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Aug 21
U.S. Long-Term Unemployment Hits 25% as Slow Hiring Traps Job Seekers
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Aug 21
Summary
25% of unemployed Americans had been out of work for 27 weeks or more, up from 23% a year earlier, as a weak hiring market made it harder to land openings.
Slow employer hiring and workers staying in their jobs longer have reduced turnover, leaving fewer vacancies and intensifying competition for available roles.
LinkedIn, ADP and PwC advisers said job seekers should rely more on networking and referrals than cold applications, while using AI only to polish materials rather than write them.
Indeed said communication, critical thinking, leadership and empathy now appear in nearly three-quarters of U.S. job postings, underscoring the premium on human skills in a tighter labor market.
The rise in long-term joblessness adds to evidence of a low-hire economy that has already left about 1.8 million Americans officially unemployed for more than six months.