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Number of long-term unemployed at 1.5 million in August 2024
September 18, 2024
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was virtually unchanged at 1.5 million in August 2024. The long-term unemployed accounted for 21.3 percent of all unemployed people in August 2024, compared with 20.6 percent in August 2023, and 19.4 percent in August 2022.
Percent distribution of duration of unemployment, August 2014–August 2024
Month
Less than 5 weeks (percent)
5–14 weeks (percent)
15–26 weeks (percent)
27 weeks and over (percent)
Less than 5 weeks, number of unemployed
5–14 weeks, number of unemployed
15–26 weeks, number of unemployed
27 weeks and over, number of unemployed
Aug 2014
27.7
25.2
15.9
31.2
2,620,000
2,389,000
1,506,000
2,958,000
Sep 2014
25.4
27.5
15.4
31.7
2,365,000
2,560,000
1,438,000
2,948,000
Oct 2014
27.4
25.3
15.4
31.8
2,494,000
2,300,000
1,400,000
2,892,000
Nov 2014
27.2
26.4
15.4
31.1
2,474,000
2,403,000
1,400,000
2,828,000
Dec 2014
27.1
26.5
14.5
32.0
2,370,000
2,320,000
1,270,000
2,799,000
Jan 2015
27.0
26.2
15.5
31.3
2,393,000
2,319,000
1,377,000
2,774,000
Feb 2015
27.7
26.0
15.5
30.8
2,392,000
2,238,000
1,333,000
2,658,000
Mar 2015
28.6
27.0
14.6
29.8
2,444,000
2,304,000
1,245,000
2,542,000
Apr 2015
31.2
26.9
12.5
29.4
2,716,000
2,345,000
1,091,000
2,560,000
May 2015
28.3
28.7
14.4
28.6
2,471,000
2,510,000
1,256,000
2,503,000
Jun 2015
27.9
29.0
16.9
26.2
2,309,000
2,396,000
1,398,000
2,162,000
Jul 2015
31.5
27.1
15.4
26.0
2,574,000
2,222,000
1,261,000
2,127,000
Aug 2015
26.4
29.6
16.3
27.6
2,073,000
2,329,000
1,283,000
2,172,000
Sep 2015
29.7
28.5
15.5
26.3
2,364,000
2,274,000
1,234,000
2,097,000
Oct 2015
29.7
28.5
15.2
26.7
2,372,000
2,277,000
1,212,000
2,130,000
Nov 2015
29.7
28.6
15.9
25.8
2,382,000
2,296,000
1,273,000
2,074,000
Dec 2015
30.2
27.6
15.5
26.8
2,399,000
2,191,000
1,232,000
2,127,000
Jan 2016
28.2
29.8
14.8
27.1
2,166,000
2,290,000
1,136,000
2,081,000
Feb 2016
28.9
28.3
15.0
27.8
2,235,000
2,187,000
1,163,000
2,150,000
Mar 2016
30.4
27.2
14.4
28.0
2,419,000
2,168,000
1,148,000
2,231,000
Apr 2016
32.1
26.4
15.0
26.6
2,594,000
2,132,000
1,209,000
2,147,000
May 2016
30.0
30.0
14.5
25.5
2,264,000
2,264,000
1,096,000
1,925,000
Jun 2016
31.1
28.5
14.5
25.8
2,396,000
2,195,000
1,117,000
1,986,000
Jul 2016
28.8
29.8
16.0
25.4
2,203,000
2,282,000
1,222,000
1,943,000
Aug 2016
29.7
30.5
14.2
25.6
2,285,000
2,352,000
1,094,000
1,970,000
Sep 2016
32.5
28.6
14.8
24.2
2,600,000
2,288,000
1,184,000
1,933,000
Oct 2016
31.0
29.0
15.2
24.8
2,434,000
2,273,000
1,190,000
1,946,000
Nov 2016
31.9
28.7
14.7
24.7
2,404,000
2,163,000
1,108,000
1,865,000
Dec 2016
31.1
28.0
16.4
24.6
2,354,000
2,117,000
1,241,000
1,860,000
Jan 2017
32.2
27.0
15.9
24.8
2,424,000
2,034,000
1,197,000
1,866,000
Feb 2017
33.6
28.5
13.8
24.1
2,511,000
2,129,000
1,032,000
1,803,000
Mar 2017
32.8
29.2
14.4
23.6
2,327,000
2,071,000
1,024,000
1,677,000
Apr 2017
32.8
29.2
13.8
24.1
2,324,000
2,070,000
979,000
1,709,000
May 2017
30.8
28.6
15.6
25.0
2,116,000
1,970,000
1,075,000
1,721,000
Jun 2017
34.1
28.2
13.4
24.3
2,321,000
1,924,000
916,000
1,654,000
Jul 2017
30.3
29.6
14.9
25.2
2,075,000
2,026,000
1,018,000
1,720,000
Aug 2017
31.7
29.0
15.6
23.7
2,258,000
2,065,000
1,107,000
1,687,000
Sep 2017
32.7
27.8
14.9
24.5
2,245,000
1,905,000
1,024,000
1,683,000
Oct 2017
32.1
29.6
14.0
24.3
2,126,000
1,961,000
925,000
1,609,000
Nov 2017
33.8
28.0
14.6
23.6
2,278,000
1,886,000
987,000
1,589,000
Dec 2017
33.6
29.6
14.0
22.8
2,237,000
1,966,000
932,000
1,516,000
Jan 2018
33.9
29.0
14.6
22.5
2,214,000
1,895,000
952,000
1,467,000
Feb 2018
37.0
28.4
13.1
21.5
2,469,000
1,893,000
873,000
1,432,000
Mar 2018
35.7
31.1
12.3
20.9
2,303,000
2,002,000
795,000
1,345,000
Apr 2018
33.5
31.2
13.9
21.5
2,142,000
1,994,000
888,000
1,375,000
May 2018
32.7
31.8
15.3
20.2
1,997,000
1,942,000
935,000
1,233,000
Jun 2018
35.3
29.1
13.7
21.9
2,269,000
1,865,000
881,000
1,404,000
Jul 2018
31.8
29.1
16.2
22.9
1,968,000
1,804,000
1,006,000
1,416,000
Aug 2018
35.8
27.7
15.9
20.6
2,241,000
1,730,000
995,000
1,287,000
Sep 2018
34.0
28.4
15.4
22.2
2,074,000
1,731,000
936,000
1,351,000
Oct 2018
33.3
29.8
14.9
21.9
2,055,000
1,840,000
920,000
1,348,000
Nov 2018
35.5
29.6
14.8
20.1
2,168,000
1,807,000
904,000
1,228,000
Dec 2018
33.5
31.7
14.5
20.3
2,149,000
2,033,000
934,000
1,306,000
Jan 2019
36.0
30.5
13.6
19.8
2,336,000
1,980,000
881,000
1,287,000
Feb 2019
36.3
28.6
14.4
20.7
2,252,000
1,772,000
894,000
1,283,000
Mar 2019
35.0
30.0
14.6
20.4
2,174,000
1,862,000
906,000
1,264,000
Apr 2019
33.6
32.0
13.4
21.0
1,966,000
1,875,000
783,000
1,230,000
May 2019
36.8
27.0
13.6
22.6
2,114,000
1,550,000
784,000
1,299,000
Jun 2019
32.2
30.8
14.2
22.7
1,889,000
1,805,000
835,000
1,333,000
Jul 2019
34.8
30.2
14.8
20.2
2,110,000
1,831,000
898,000
1,227,000
Aug 2019
37.3
28.1
13.9
20.7
2,268,000
1,710,000
847,000
1,257,000
Sep 2019
32.0
30.2
14.6
23.2
1,849,000
1,743,000
846,000
1,338,000
Oct 2019
32.6
29.9
15.5
21.9
1,922,000
1,760,000
915,000
1,291,000
Nov 2019
35.1
29.2
15.1
20.5
2,067,000
1,721,000
887,000
1,208,000
Dec 2019
35.5
30.3
14.1
20.2
2,090,000
1,784,000
829,000
1,188,000
Jan 2020
35.0
29.9
15.2
19.9
2,053,000
1,755,000
891,000
1,166,000
Feb 2020
36.4
30.9
13.3
19.5
2,105,000
1,785,000
766,000
1,125,000
Mar 2020
47.5
25.8
11.6
15.0
3,422,000
1,860,000
836,000
1,082,000
Apr 2020
62.0
30.7
3.1
4.2
14,261,000
7,066,000
713,000
965,000
May 2020
18.5
70.9
5.2
5.4
3,868,000
14,806,000
1,077,000
1,124,000
Jun 2020
16.4
65.1
10.9
7.7
2,896,000
11,522,000
1,923,000
1,355,000
Jul 2020
19.3
31.5
39.8
9.3
3,152,000
5,145,000
6,498,000
1,518,000
Aug 2020
17.2
22.9
47.8
12.2
2,336,000
3,105,000
6,491,000
1,653,000
Sep 2020
20.1
21.6
38.9
19.3
2,547,000
2,735,000
4,921,000
2,447,000
Oct 2020
22.4
21.2
23.8
32.6
2,466,000
2,342,000
2,624,000
3,600,000
Nov 2020
23.1
22.7
17.5
36.6
2,487,000
2,440,000
1,878,000
3,937,000
Dec 2020
26.9
21.7
14.7
36.6
2,902,000
2,344,000
1,590,000
3,955,000
Jan 2021
22.6
24.4
13.0
40.0
2,291,000
2,474,000
1,321,000
4,055,000
Feb 2021
22.3
22.3
14.1
41.4
2,216,000
2,214,000
1,399,000
4,118,000
Mar 2021
22.4
20.5
14.2
42.9
2,179,000
1,991,000
1,386,000
4,174,000
Apr 2021
24.8
20.5
12.9
41.7
2,409,000
1,992,000
1,256,000
4,053,000
May 2021
21.8
23.8
13.5
40.9
1,998,000
2,181,000
1,240,000
3,757,000
Jun 2021
20.9
23.0
14.6
41.4
1,985,000
2,188,000
1,387,000
3,933,000
Jul 2021
25.8
21.0
13.0
40.2
2,257,000
1,836,000
1,134,000
3,508,000
Aug 2021
25.1
22.8
14.4
37.7
2,103,000
1,914,000
1,206,000
3,155,000
Sep 2021
29.1
22.4
12.7
35.7
2,238,000
1,720,000
979,000
2,742,000
Oct 2021
28.2
25.8
13.3
32.8
2,049,000
1,875,000
969,000
2,383,000
Nov 2021
29.5
25.0
13.1
32.5
1,988,000
1,682,000
880,000
2,191,000
Dec 2021
31.0
25.1
12.9
30.9
1,974,000
1,595,000
823,000
1,968,000
Jan 2022
37.5
24.5
11.9
26.1
2,472,000
1,611,000
786,000
1,715,000
Feb 2022
33.9
27.9
12.7
25.5
2,145,000
1,768,000
803,000
1,615,000
Mar 2022
38.3
28.6
9.4
23.6
2,305,000
1,723,000
567,000
1,422,000
Apr 2022
38.7
27.3
11.0
23.0
2,277,000
1,608,000
647,000
1,354,000
May 2022
34.9
30.2
12.0
22.9
2,030,000
1,757,000
696,000
1,333,000
Jun 2022
38.0
26.1
13.9
22.0
2,240,000
1,536,000
816,000
1,296,000
Jul 2022
36.4
32.1
11.4
20.2
2,097,000
1,849,000
656,000
1,166,000
Aug 2022
36.4
30.0
14.2
19.4
2,214,000
1,828,000
864,000
1,181,000
Sep 2022
37.4
28.1
14.3
20.2
2,156,000
1,619,000
822,000
1,164,000
Oct 2022
36.6
30.1
13.0
20.3
2,189,000
1,803,000
775,000
1,216,000
Nov 2022
37.7
27.9
13.7
20.6
2,247,000
1,665,000
815,000
1,229,000
Dec 2022
38.5
28.6
13.8
19.2
2,218,000
1,645,000
792,000
1,106,000
Jan 2023
33.8
31.3
16.2
18.7
1,942,000
1,795,000
929,000
1,073,000
Feb 2023
38.3
30.7
13.6
17.5
2,294,000
1,838,000
812,000
1,051,000
Mar 2023
38.7
30.0
13.5
17.8
2,279,000
1,765,000
797,000
1,050,000
Apr 2023
33.2
34.1
13.3
19.4
1,867,000
1,920,000
748,000
1,089,000
May 2023
34.7
31.1
15.2
18.9
2,080,000
1,863,000
911,000
1,132,000
Jun 2023
34.8
31.2
15.2
18.8
2,065,000
1,850,000
905,000
1,117,000
Jul 2023
34.0
29.5
16.2
20.4
2,007,000
1,741,000
956,000
1,205,000
Aug 2023
34.6
29.7
15.1
20.6
2,224,000
1,913,000
970,000
1,326,000
Sep 2023
32.2
32.0
15.4
20.4
2,053,000
2,043,000
985,000
1,303,000
Oct 2023
35.0
28.4
16.7
19.9
2,269,000
1,836,000
1,079,000
1,291,000
Nov 2023
33.0
32.8
14.8
19.4
2,069,000
2,060,000
931,000
1,220,000
Dec 2023
34.6
28.3
17.4
19.7
2,191,000
1,791,000
1,104,000
1,245,000
Jan 2024
34.9
30.1
14.1
20.8
2,140,000
1,848,000
867,000
1,277,000
Feb 2024
36.1
30.0
15.1
18.7
2,326,000
1,933,000
974,000
1,203,000
Mar 2024
34.2
30.9
15.3
19.5
2,189,000
1,979,000
982,000
1,246,000
Apr 2024
35.5
31.2
13.6
19.6
2,262,000
1,987,000
869,000
1,250,000
May 2024
35.3
29.4
14.6
20.7
2,309,000
1,918,000
955,000
1,350,000
Jun 2024
31.1
30.8
15.9
22.2
2,128,000
2,102,000
1,087,000
1,516,000
Jul 2024
33.0
30.1
15.3
21.6
2,351,000
2,141,000
1,087,000
1,535,000
Aug 2024
34.3
28.1
16.2
21.3
2,468,000
2,019,000
1,167,000
1,533,000
In August 2024, 1.2 million people had been unemployed for 15 to 26 weeks, making up 16.2 percent of all unemployed people.
The share of the unemployed for 5 to 14 weeks in August 2024 was 28.1 percent, the lowest since November 2022. The total number of unemployed people in this group was 2.0 million in August 2024.
The number of those unemployed for less than 5 weeks in August 2024 was 2.5 million, making up 34.3 percent of the total unemployed.
United States Department of Labor
