OLIVIER DOULIERY | AFP | Getty Images
In August, more than a third of unemployed Americans were long-term unemployed, as benefits for these workers must expire.
About 3.2 million people (or 37.4% of the total unemployed) have been out of work for at least six months, according to the official long-term unemployment barometer, the Office reported on Friday. of United States Labor Statistics.
The share has fallen for two consecutive months and is below the maximum of 43.4% in March 2021. But the level of August remains high by historical standards. The Great Recession is the only period since World War II during which more than 30% of unemployed Americans were long-term unemployed; at that time, it exceeded 45.5% in April 2010.
People who do not work for long periods of time tend to have more financial difficulties.
Household incomes can drop significantly and finding a new job becomes more difficult, according to labor economists. Dynamics can negatively affect long-term profit potential and increase the chances of losing a future job.
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Federal expansions of unemployment benefits have boosted household incomes during the pandemic and reduced these financial impacts.
Unemployed people usually take out state unemployment insurance for up to 26 weeks, although some states offer less. The extensions offered several additional weeks of federally funded benefits for the long-term unemployed.
However, these benefits expire on Labor Day. (Administrative rules mean they will expire on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the state).
Approximately 3.8 million long-term unemployed received this federal aid in mid-August, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. Most Republican state governors withdrew federal aid in June or July before its official expiration across the country.
Another federal aid also ends at the same time. The Supreme Court on August 26 approved a national eviction ban imposed by the Biden administration, which could affect millions of people on their rent. (Some states still have an eviction moratorium in place).
Job prospects may also be hampered by the rise of new Covid cases fueled by the highly contagious delta variant.
The United States added 235,000 jobs in August, far less than 720,000 economists had expected, and a marked slowdown from the roughly 1 million added in both June and July. The economy is still 5.3 million jobs below pre-pandemic levels.
Despite this slowdown, Biden administration officials noted an average job growth of 750,000 in the last three months and a fall in the unemployment rate to 5.2%, the lowest since the start of the pandemic.
“But we have work to do to reverse the delta variant and build an inclusive economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “Rising infection rates in some states have severely affected the food and retail sectors, where women and color workers are disproportionately represented.”