Over 1.8 million Americans are now classified as long-term unemployed, defined by the government as being jobless for at least 27 weeks in a given month.
That figure is up approximately 45% from 2019 and 55% from 2023, according to a CNBC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, signalling a deteriorating labour market.
Parker Taylor, a 29-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida, lost his medical sales job shortly before the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday and has been unable to find new work since.
“This can’t go on much longer without some type of catastrophic change to my life,” Taylor said, adding that the prolonged unemployment could affect his family’s long-term future and even his future children.
Taylor said his retirement planning and long-term investing strategy has come to a “screeching halt,” and he has applied to around 100 jobs and completed several interviews without success.
Cory Stahle, an economist at job site Indeed, said long-term unemployment reveals how effectively the labour market absorbs workers back into employment.
“It tells us a lot about economic health,” Stahle said, warning that the rising numbers reflect a broader “low-hire, low-fire” dynamic where job openings and hiring rates have fallen sharply from pandemic-era peaks.
Research from the Boston Federal Reserve found that long-term unemployed workers earned approximately 32% less after a decade compared with those who had not lost work, versus a 9% reduction for shorter periods of unemployment.
A Pew Research report found the long-term unemployed were more than twice as likely to seek professional help for depression or other mental health challenges compared with those out of work for under three months.
Carl Van Horn, director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, described the situation in stark terms, saying “other than the death of a family member or a close friend, this is one of the most devastating things that people face.”
Ana Febres-Cordero, a 29-year-old Chicago resident who lost her social media job over a year ago, said she has completed more than 300 job applications and pulled back on social outings to conserve her savings.
“I don’t think people might realize how much it affects the individual,” Febres-Cordero said. “It breaks down your confidence.”
Lindsay Acker, 38, of Asbury Park, New Jersey, has fallen behind on student loan and credit card payments and has dipped into her retirement account after losing her health industry job and exhausting unemployment benefits.
“I am not the same person I was when I lost my job,” Acker said. “I’ve lost my spark. I’ve lost my happiness. I’ve lost my ability to see joy.”
William Congdon, a labour economist and senior fellow at the Urban Institute, noted that the long-term unemployed no longer qualify for most unemployment benefits, which are typically capped at 26 weeks, and face employer stigma due to resume gaps.
Research also shows that parental job loss increases the chance a child will repeat a school grade by around 15%, while communities with higher concentrations of long-term unemployed residents report elevated rates of crime and violence, according to the Urban Institute.
Recent college graduates are also being swept into the long-term unemployment pool, with a jobless rate of 5.6%, well above the broader national average of 4.2%, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
Consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of US gross domestic product, meaning a prolonged rise in long-term unemployment could weigh meaningfully on overall economic growth.
Even those who have returned to work carry lasting psychological and financial scars, with Deborah Yu, who began a new job in March after being laid off in mid-2025, describing the experience as deeply affecting her relationship with money.
“It’s been a transformative experience,” Yu said. “I think about money now on a deeper level.”