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June 1994

Long-term unemployment in recent recessions

Randy Ilg

During the 1990-91 recession, the long-term jobless rate was much lower than that associated with the 1981-82 contraction. However, unemployment of more than 6 months has been very slow to recover from the recent downturn. This article focuses on the extent of long-term unemployment associated with the 1990-91 recession and its aftermath, comparing its conditions to other major recession of the past two decades.

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