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2026-07-19 02:40:12
As of June, nearly 2 million Americans had been unemployed for at least six months. The proportion of job seekers unemployed for six months or more rose to 27.3% of the total unemployed population that month, approaching the highest level since the end of 2021. Currently, several core statistical indicators show an overall positive trend in the US labor market: the US economy has added jobs for four consecutive months, the job market has shown a significant recovery compared to the end of last year, and the unemployment rate has slowly fallen to 4.2%. However, even with this overall positive situation, nearly 2 million Americans have been unemployed for at least six months. Among them, the long-term unemployed group (those unemployed for 27 weeks or more, the longest unemployment category counted in the US Department of Labor's monthly employment report) accounted for 27.3% of the total unemployed population in June, an increase of 4 percentage points compared to the same period last year. This proportion is approaching the peak of the labor market recovery period after the impact of the pandemic at the end of 2021. Long-term unemployment hides many risks; most job seekers lose their severance pay or unemployment benefits after six months of unemployment. According to data released by U.S. federal departments, white-collar workers have the longest unemployment period of all groups, and young adults of working age are particularly hard hit by long-term unemployment.
