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1.4 million unemployed for 27 weeks or longer in May 2022

June 08, 2022

In May 2022, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) edged down to 1.4 million. This was 235,000 higher than in February 2020, but 2.8 million lower than its recent peak of 4.2 million in March 2021.

Number of unemployed by duration of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, January 2012–May 2022
Month Total unemployed Unemployed less than 5 weeks Unemployed 5 to 14 weeks Unemployed 15 to 26 weeks Unemployed 27 weeks or longer
Number of unemployed Percent of total Number of unemployed Percent of total Number of unemployed Percent of total Number of unemployed Percent of total

Jan 2012

12,797,000 2,474,000 19.3% 2,908,000 22.7% 1,957,000 15.3% 5,476,000 42.7%

Feb 2012

12,813,000 2,610,000 20.5 2,848,000 22.3 2,051,000 16.1 5,242,000 41.1

Mar 2012

12,713,000 2,708,000 21.4 2,788,000 22.0 1,940,000 15.3 5,236,000 41.3

Apr 2012

12,646,000 2,624,000 20.9 2,878,000 22.9 1,940,000 15.4 5,132,000 40.8

May 2012

12,660,000 2,550,000 20.2 3,006,000 23.8 1,690,000 13.4 5,401,000 42.7

Jun 2012

12,692,000 2,747,000 21.5 2,806,000 22.0 1,817,000 14.2 5,409,000 42.3

Jul 2012

12,656,000 2,662,000 21.1 2,984,000 23.6 1,773,000 14.0 5,210,000 41.2

Aug 2012

12,471,000 2,784,000 22.3 2,811,000 22.5 1,846,000 14.8 5,042,000 40.4

Sep 2012

12,115,000 2,538,000 20.9 2,819,000 23.2 1,863,000 15.4 4,911,000 40.5

Oct 2012

12,124,000 2,635,000 21.5 2,859,000 23.3 1,796,000 14.6 4,988,000 40.6

Nov 2012

12,005,000 2,620,000 21.9 2,776,000 23.2 1,745,000 14.6 4,805,000 40.2

Dec 2012

12,298,000 2,756,000 22.4 2,901,000 23.6 1,861,000 15.1 4,768,000 38.8

Jan 2013

12,471,000 2,780,000 22.3 3,115,000 25.0 1,891,000 15.2 4,681,000 37.5

Feb 2013

11,950,000 2,713,000 22.7 2,799,000 23.4 1,766,000 14.8 4,691,000 39.2

Mar 2013

11,689,000 2,462,000 21.1 2,826,000 24.2 1,830,000 15.7 4,563,000 39.1

Apr 2013

11,760,000 2,487,000 21.0 2,908,000 24.6 1,953,000 16.5 4,468,000 37.8

May 2013

11,654,000 2,674,000 23.0 2,631,000 22.6 1,986,000 17.1 4,347,000 37.3

Jun 2013

11,751,000 2,680,000 22.8 2,851,000 24.2 1,876,000 16.0 4,355,000 37.0

Jul 2013

11,335,000 2,493,000 22.0 2,768,000 24.5 1,791,000 15.8 4,258,000 37.6

Aug 2013

11,279,000 2,475,000 22.2 2,688,000 24.1 1,677,000 15.1 4,296,000 38.6

Sep 2013

11,270,000 2,604,000 23.2 2,691,000 24.0 1,797,000 16.0 4,132,000 36.8

Oct 2013

11,136,000 2,823,000 25.2 2,639,000 23.5 1,737,000 15.5 4,024,000 35.9

Nov 2013

10,787,000 2,409,000 22.4 2,586,000 24.1 1,695,000 15.8 4,042,000 37.7

Dec 2013

10,404,000 2,328,000 22.4 2,545,000 24.4 1,676,000 16.1 3,863,000 37.1

Jan 2014

10,202,000 2,473,000 24.2 2,431,000 23.8 1,696,000 16.6 3,607,000 35.3

Feb 2014

10,349,000 2,376,000 22.9 2,590,000 25.0 1,621,000 15.6 3,783,000 36.5

Mar 2014

10,380,000 2,433,000 23.4 2,561,000 24.6 1,711,000 16.4 3,704,000 35.6

Apr 2014

9,702,000 2,424,000 24.8 2,377,000 24.3 1,502,000 15.4 3,479,000 35.6

May 2014

9,859,000 2,586,000 26.6 2,357,000 24.2 1,425,000 14.7 3,360,000 34.5

Jun 2014

9,460,000 2,417,000 25.5 2,427,000 25.6 1,503,000 15.9 3,116,000 32.9

Jul 2014

9,608,000 2,601,000 27.0 2,412,000 25.1 1,477,000 15.3 3,136,000 32.6

Aug 2014

9,599,000 2,620,000 27.7 2,389,000 25.2 1,506,000 15.9 2,958,000 31.2

Sep 2014

9,262,000 2,365,000 25.4 2,560,000 27.5 1,438,000 15.4 2,948,000 31.7

Oct 2014

8,990,000 2,494,000 27.4 2,300,000 25.3 1,400,000 15.4 2,892,000 31.8

Nov 2014

9,090,000 2,474,000 27.2 2,403,000 26.4 1,400,000 15.4 2,828,000 31.1

Dec 2014

8,717,000 2,370,000 27.1 2,320,000 26.5 1,270,000 14.5 2,799,000 32.0

Jan 2015

8,885,000 2,393,000 27.0 2,319,000 26.2 1,377,000 15.5 2,774,000 31.3

Feb 2015

8,599,000 2,392,000 27.7 2,238,000 26.0 1,333,000 15.5 2,658,000 30.8

Mar 2015

8,515,000 2,444,000 28.6 2,304,000 27.0 1,245,000 14.6 2,542,000 29.8

Apr 2015

8,550,000 2,716,000 31.2 2,345,000 26.9 1,091,000 12.5 2,560,000 29.4

May 2015

8,834,000 2,471,000 28.3 2,510,000 28.7 1,256,000 14.4 2,503,000 28.6

Jun 2015

8,247,000 2,309,000 27.9 2,396,000 29.0 1,398,000 16.9 2,162,000 26.2

Jul 2015

8,167,000 2,574,000 31.5 2,222,000 27.1 1,261,000 15.4 2,127,000 26.0

Aug 2015

7,992,000 2,073,000 26.4 2,329,000 29.6 1,283,000 16.3 2,172,000 27.6

Sep 2015

7,907,000 2,364,000 29.7 2,274,000 28.5 1,234,000 15.5 2,097,000 26.3

Oct 2015

7,922,000 2,372,000 29.7 2,277,000 28.5 1,212,000 15.2 2,130,000 26.7

Nov 2015

8,000,000 2,382,000 29.7 2,296,000 28.6 1,273,000 15.9 2,074,000 25.8

Dec 2015

7,907,000 2,399,000 30.2 2,191,000 27.6 1,232,000 15.5 2,127,000 26.8

Jan 2016

7,627,000 2,166,000 28.2 2,290,000 29.8 1,136,000 14.8 2,081,000 27.1

Feb 2016

7,702,000 2,235,000 28.9 2,187,000 28.3 1,163,000 15.0 2,150,000 27.8

Mar 2016

7,961,000 2,419,000 30.4 2,168,000 27.2 1,148,000 14.4 2,231,000 28.0

Apr 2016

8,067,000 2,594,000 32.1 2,132,000 26.4 1,209,000 15.0 2,147,000 26.6

May 2016

7,652,000 2,264,000 30.0 2,264,000 30.0 1,096,000 14.5 1,925,000 25.5

Jun 2016

7,744,000 2,396,000 31.1 2,195,000 28.5 1,117,000 14.5 1,986,000 25.8

Jul 2016

7,641,000 2,203,000 28.8 2,282,000 29.8 1,222,000 16.0 1,943,000 25.4

Aug 2016

7,784,000 2,285,000 29.7 2,352,000 30.5 1,094,000 14.2 1,970,000 25.6

Sep 2016

7,953,000 2,600,000 32.5 2,288,000 28.6 1,184,000 14.8 1,933,000 24.2

Oct 2016

7,811,000 2,434,000 31.0 2,273,000 29.0 1,190,000 15.2 1,946,000 24.8

Nov 2016

7,553,000 2,404,000 31.9 2,163,000 28.7 1,108,000 14.7 1,865,000 24.7

Dec 2016

7,521,000 2,354,000 31.1 2,117,000 28.0 1,241,000 16.4 1,860,000 24.6

Jan 2017

7,468,000 2,424,000 32.2 2,034,000 27.0 1,197,000 15.9 1,866,000 24.8

Feb 2017

7,379,000 2,511,000 33.6 2,129,000 28.5 1,032,000 13.8 1,803,000 24.1

Mar 2017

7,073,000 2,327,000 32.8 2,071,000 29.2 1,024,000 14.4 1,677,000 23.6

Apr 2017

7,089,000 2,324,000 32.8 2,070,000 29.2 979,000 13.8 1,709,000 24.1

May 2017

7,000,000 2,116,000 30.8 1,970,000 28.6 1,075,000 15.6 1,721,000 25.0

Jun 2017

6,873,000 2,321,000 34.1 1,924,000 28.2 916,000 13.4 1,654,000 24.3

Jul 2017

6,892,000 2,075,000 30.3 2,026,000 29.6 1,018,000 14.9 1,720,000 25.2

Aug 2017

7,082,000 2,258,000 31.7 2,065,000 29.0 1,107,000 15.6 1,687,000 23.7

Sep 2017

6,854,000 2,245,000 32.7 1,905,000 27.8 1,024,000 14.9 1,683,000 24.5

Oct 2017

6,700,000 2,126,000 32.1 1,961,000 29.6 925,000 14.0 1,609,000 24.3

Nov 2017

6,774,000 2,278,000 33.8 1,886,000 28.0 987,000 14.6 1,589,000 23.6

Dec 2017

6,632,000 2,237,000 33.6 1,966,000 29.6 932,000 14.0 1,516,000 22.8

Jan 2018

6,505,000 2,256,000 34.4 1,884,000 28.7 964,000 14.7 1,460,000 22.2

Feb 2018

6,586,000 2,490,000 37.0 1,903,000 28.3 893,000 13.3 1,436,000 21.4

Mar 2018

6,457,000 2,321,000 35.8 2,003,000 30.9 822,000 12.7 1,338,000 20.6

Apr 2018

6,448,000 2,154,000 33.5 1,981,000 30.8 919,000 14.3 1,385,000 21.5

May 2018

6,188,000 1,961,000 32.3 1,947,000 32.1 922,000 15.2 1,237,000 20.4

Jun 2018

6,446,000 2,254,000 35.4 1,841,000 28.9 867,000 13.6 1,406,000 22.1

Jul 2018

6,173,000 1,959,000 31.8 1,818,000 29.5 995,000 16.1 1,395,000 22.6

Aug 2018

6,167,000 2,242,000 35.8 1,747,000 27.9 988,000 15.8 1,278,000 20.4

Sep 2018

6,065,000 2,061,000 34.0 1,724,000 28.5 935,000 15.4 1,340,000 22.1

Oct 2018

6,230,000 2,033,000 33.1 1,850,000 30.1 907,000 14.8 1,353,000 22.0

Nov 2018

6,132,000 2,168,000 35.5 1,803,000 29.5 882,000 14.5 1,250,000 20.5

Dec 2018

6,379,000 2,143,000 33.4 2,024,000 31.6 923,000 14.4 1,317,000 20.6

Jan 2019

6,458,000 2,352,000 36.2 1,968,000 30.3 892,000 13.7 1,282,000 19.7

Feb 2019

6,122,000 2,269,000 36.1 1,808,000 28.8 896,000 14.3 1,304,000 20.8

Mar 2019

6,166,000 2,196,000 35.4 1,832,000 29.5 873,000 14.1 1,309,000 21.1

Apr 2019

5,898,000 1,956,000 33.3 1,865,000 31.8 745,000 12.7 1,306,000 22.2

May 2019

5,935,000 2,093,000 36.4 1,569,000 27.3 741,000 12.9 1,340,000 23.3

Jun 2019

5,906,000 1,879,000 32.2 1,805,000 30.9 798,000 13.7 1,360,000 23.3

Jul 2019

5,984,000 2,098,000 35.0 1,798,000 30.0 952,000 15.9 1,146,000 19.1

Aug 2019

5,993,000 2,275,000 37.4 1,721,000 28.3 897,000 14.7 1,197,000 19.7

Sep 2019

5,766,000 1,838,000 31.9 1,750,000 30.4 889,000 15.4 1,285,000 22.3

Oct 2019

5,980,000 1,922,000 32.7 1,763,000 30.0 940,000 16.0 1,253,000 21.3

Nov 2019

5,930,000 2,065,000 35.0 1,738,000 29.5 884,000 15.0 1,205,000 20.4

Dec 2019

5,861,000 2,094,000 35.7 1,765,000 30.1 817,000 13.9 1,196,000 20.4

Jan 2020

5,826,000 2,069,000 35.2 1,742,000 29.7 877,000 14.9 1,186,000 20.2

Feb 2020

5,717,000 2,123,000 36.2 1,830,000 31.2 793,000 13.5 1,121,000 19.1

Mar 2020

7,165,000 3,446,000 47.9 1,825,000 25.3 760,000 10.6 1,170,000 16.2

Apr 2020

23,038,000 14,251,000 61.9 7,066,000 30.7 705,000 3.1 1,012,000 4.4

May 2020

20,940,000 3,846,000 18.4 14,806,000 71.0 996,000 4.8 1,204,000 5.8

Jun 2020

17,616,000 2,884,000 16.3 11,522,000 65.2 1,928,000 10.9 1,340,000 7.6

Jul 2020

16,288,000 3,141,000 19.3 5,145,000 31.6 6,509,000 40.0 1,480,000 9.1

Aug 2020

13,532,000 2,342,000 17.2 3,105,000 22.9 6,580,000 48.4 1,554,000 11.4

Sep 2020

12,584,000 2,535,000 20.1 2,735,000 21.7 4,962,000 39.3 2,396,000 19.0

Oct 2020

11,115,000 2,467,000 22.4 2,342,000 21.3 2,654,000 24.1 3,558,000 32.3

Nov 2020

10,777,000 2,485,000 23.2 2,440,000 22.7 1,873,000 17.5 3,935,000 36.7

Dec 2020

10,789,000 2,906,000 26.9 2,344,000 21.7 1,563,000 14.5 3,979,000 36.9

Jan 2021

10,180,000 2,307,000 22.7 2,454,000 24.2 1,336,000 13.2 4,046,000 39.9

Feb 2021

9,992,000 2,234,000 22.2 2,285,000 22.7 1,383,000 13.8 4,156,000 41.3

Mar 2021

9,691,000 2,204,000 22.7 1,950,000 20.0 1,371,000 14.1 4,201,000 43.2

Apr 2021

9,719,000 2,400,000 24.7 1,981,000 20.4 1,160,000 11.9 4,187,000 43.0

May 2021

9,251,000 1,974,000 21.5 2,218,000 24.1 1,230,000 13.4 3,765,000 41.0

Jun 2021

9,502,000 1,972,000 20.8 2,182,000 23.1 1,338,000 14.1 3,973,000 42.0

Jul 2021

8,671,000 2,246,000 26.0 1,794,000 20.7 1,203,000 13.9 3,411,000 39.4

Aug 2021

8,339,000 2,110,000 25.1 1,927,000 23.0 1,248,000 14.9 3,105,000 37.0

Sep 2021

7,666,000 2,227,000 29.1 1,727,000 22.5 1,047,000 13.7 2,664,000 34.8

Oct 2021

7,375,000 2,051,000 28.2 1,876,000 25.8 1,001,000 13.8 2,339,000 32.2

Nov 2021

6,802,000 1,985,000 29.4 1,703,000 25.2 870,000 12.9 2,193,000 32.5

Dec 2021

6,319,000 1,977,000 31.2 1,571,000 24.8 780,000 12.3 2,008,000 31.7

Jan 2022

6,513,000 2,417,000 37.0 1,607,000 24.6 816,000 12.5 1,691,000 25.9

Feb 2022

6,270,000 2,131,000 33.5 1,800,000 28.3 735,000 11.5 1,702,000 26.7

Mar 2022

5,952,000 2,289,000 38.3 1,684,000 28.2 571,000 9.6 1,428,000 23.9

Apr 2022

5,941,000 2,227,000 37.9 1,617,000 27.5 551,000 9.4 1,483,000 25.2

May 2022

5,950,000 2,066,000 35.3 1,767,000 30.2 661,000 11.3 1,356,000 23.2

Note: Data shown will not necessarily add to total unemployed because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series.

The long-term unemployed accounted for 23.2 percent of all unemployed persons in May 2022. In March 2021, the long-term unemployed were 43.2 percent of total unemployment.

Before the onset of the COVID pandemic, long-term unemployment had been on the decline.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. See "The Employment Situation — May 2022" to learn more. Also see charts of Employment Situation data.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 1.4 million unemployed for 27 weeks or longer in May 2022 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/1-4-million-unemployed-for-27-weeks-or-longer-in-may-2022.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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