Despite months of positive jobs reports and an unemployment rate under 8%, economists say that long-term unemployment remains high. For most people out of work for more than six months, there are few assistance programs to help them continue to live. Economists say that not addressing the long-term unemployment problem could hurt the labor market for decades. They say that unless it is addressed, the number of unemployed could become the norm in the economy, making it difficult to ever recover completely. There are about 5 million people who are counted as long-term unemployed, meaning they have been seeking a job for more than six months.
See "Little Federal Help for the Long-Term Unemployed", Annie Lowrey and Catherine Rampell, The New York Times, November 1, 2012