Congress Warned Not to Forget Long-Term Unemployed

Senate Struggles to Craft Jobs Bill

By Mike Lillis, 2/12/10 6:00 AM

There is unemployment, and then there is long-term unemployment. As Congress grapples this month with ways to tackle the nation’s jobless crisis, many economists are hoping lawmakers recognize the distinction.

Not only is there often a stigma associated with being out of work for long stretches, but the long-term unemployed are also more likely to have lost a competitive step in their field, requiring focused retraining programs more nuanced than simply throwing federal dollars to existing industries. Many other workers will discover that the task they’ve spent a lifetime doing is no longer relevant on the other side of the recession.