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Duration of unemployment in March 2013

April 09, 2013

In March 2013, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 4.6 million. These individuals accounted for 39.6 percent of the 11.7 million unemployed persons counted in March.

Duration of unemployment, percent distribution, January 2008-March 2013
MonthLess than 5 weeks5 to 14 weeks15 to 26 weeks27 weeks and over

Jan 2008

34.132.115.418.5

Feb 2008

35.531.714.917.8

Mar 2008

36.032.314.916.9

Apr 2008

32.233.217.017.7

May 2008

38.429.014.318.3

Jun 2008

31.734.715.418.2

Jul 2008

32.432.216.518.9

Aug 2008

34.529.216.519.8

Sep 2008

29.931.916.821.3

Oct 2008

31.029.916.722.3

Nov 2008

31.731.016.221.1

Dec 2008

28.831.017.123.1

Jan 2009

29.530.617.322.6

Feb 2009

26.830.719.023.5

Mar 2009

25.530.719.524.3

Apr 2009

24.129.919.226.9

May 2009

22.130.220.827.0

Jun 2009

20.927.023.129.0

Jul 2009

21.624.320.133.9

Aug 2009

20.126.718.934.3

Sep 2009

18.925.119.436.6

Oct 2009

20.923.019.536.6

Nov 2009

18.723.019.039.4

Dec 2009

19.022.718.040.3

Jan 2010

19.322.216.941.6

Feb 2010

18.422.418.141.1

Mar 2010

17.921.816.643.7

Apr 2010

18.220.716.245.0

May 2010

18.821.015.344.9

Jun 2010

18.421.415.444.8

Jul 2010

19.320.915.244.6

Aug 2010

18.524.214.742.7

Sep 2010

19.422.715.842.2

Oct 2010

18.222.816.542.6

Nov 2010

19.422.216.042.4

Dec 2010

18.621.914.944.6

Jan 2011

19.121.315.744.0

Feb 2011

17.722.516.043.7

Mar 2011

18.121.914.745.3

Apr 2011

20.121.615.742.6

May 2011

19.521.014.944.6

Jun 2011

21.321.313.344.1

Jul 2011

19.121.914.444.5

Aug 2011

19.421.615.743.3

Sep 2011

19.820.714.544.9

Oct 2011

19.423.614.442.6

Nov 2011

19.222.015.643.2

Dec 2011

20.221.715.242.8

Jan 2012

19.422.415.143.0

Feb 2012

20.122.115.542.3

Mar 2012

20.722.214.942.2

Apr 2012

20.622.916.040.5

May 2012

20.523.713.442.4

Jun 2012

22.122.114.241.7

Jul 2012

21.224.413.840.6

Aug 2012

22.822.714.540.0

Sep 2012

21.023.415.440.3

Oct 2012

21.423.114.740.8

Nov 2012

21.723.115.240.0

Dec 2012

22.023.315.639.1

Jan 2013

22.424.515.038.1

Feb 2013

22.323.314.240.2

Mar 2013

21.124.414.939.6

 

The percentage of long-term unemployed for March 2013 is a decline of 2.6 percentage points from the prior year; in March 2012, 42.2 percent of the unemployed had been jobless for 27 weeks or longer.

The total number of unemployed persons (at 11.7 million) was little changed in March 2013; similarly, the unemployment rate, which is the unemployed as a percentage of the 155.0 million persons in the civilian labor force, was also little changed, at 7.6 percent.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted.  To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — March 2013," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-13-0581.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Duration of unemployment in March 2013 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130409.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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