Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
Long-term unemployment has climbed to 25.7% as of August 2025, the highest in over three years, signaling tougher conditions for job seekers. The number of people considered long-term unemployed\u2014or unemployed for 27 weeks or more\u2014has ticked up this year, signaling a more competitive labor market<\/a> for job hunters.\n<\/p>\n As of August 2025, the percentage of long-term unemployed was 25.7%, the highest it has been since February 2022.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n What Long-Term Unemployment Really Means\u2014and Why It\u2019s a Big Deal <\/p>\n Economists use long-term unemployment as one of many indicators they look at to determine the health of the labor market<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n When long-term unemployment goes up, it signals that some job seekers are finding it harder to get back into the labor force, according to Josh Hirt, a senior U.S. economist at Vanguard.\n<\/p>\n “We’re in this environment [that] I think has been aptly characterized as a low-hire, low-fire type of environment<\/a>. So things are a bit more at a standstill,” Hirt said.\n<\/p>\n Long-term unemployment can be more challenging on people’s finances compared to those who are unemployed for shorter periods of time, as unemployment benefits<\/a> in many states only last up to 26 weeks.\n<\/p>\n Plus, those who are unemployed for a long time may forgo health insurance if they previously received it through an employer.\n<\/p>\n “As you become unemployed for longer and longer, it’s going to wear much heavier on whatever savings you might have,” said Cory Stahle, a senior economist at Indeed.\n<\/p>\n Additionally, those who deal with long-term unemployment may face poorer job prospects in the future.\n<\/p>\n Research analyzing those who were unemployed after the Great Recession found that of those who were long-term unemployed in a given month, nearly one-third (30%) were still unemployed and looking for work 15 months later.\n<\/p>\n “Thus, if there is a structural problem currently confronting the long-term unemployed that pushes them to the margins of the labor market, it presumably has come about because their skills, motivation to find a job, or self-esteem eroded during their long stretch of unemployment, or because employers treat the long-term unemployed differently,” the researchers wrote.\n<\/p>\n In other words, the long-term unemployed may face a variety of obstacles making it harder to land a new role, like being less motivated to job hunt and discrimination from employers.\n<\/p>\n How To Find a Job When You’ve Been Unemployed For a Long Stretch Of Time <\/p>\n Michelle Reisdorf, a district director at Robert Half, a recruitment firm, emphasized the importance of going outside of your comfort zone, especially if the traditional way of applying to jobs online hasn’t worked.\n<\/p>\n “Oftentimes that comes with networking<\/a>, connecting with people that you don’t know, attending events that you’ve never attended before, maybe signing up for classes or courses to brush up on your skills,” Reisdorf said.\n<\/p>\n
\nExtended unemployment strains people’s savings, while also making it harder to reenter the labor force due to skill erosion and employer bias.
\nExperts recommend networking, skill-building, and trying out contract work<\/a> as strategies for landing a new role.<\/p>\n