The Obama Economy and Lingering Effects of Long-Term Unemployment

A recent survey done by CareerBuilder.com shows the effects of unemployment on job seekers.  For many, it’s not just the loss of income. 

According to a new CareerBuilder survey, the loss of a regular income has affected the long-term unemployed in various ways, such as not having enough money for food (25 percent), strained relationships with family and friends (25 percent) and maxing out credit cards to pay other bills (12 percent). 

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Challenges of finding work

One of the main concerns job seekers often have when they’ve been out of the workforce for a while is that they’ll lose valuable skills. In fact, 45 percent of long-term unemployed say they’re worried that their skills have depreciated. Of these respondents, more than half say their technology skills declined.  

When asked to share some of the major challenges they encounter when looking for a job, the long-term unemployed point to:

• My age or experience is a disadvantage — 66 percent
• The longer I am unemployed, employers are becoming less responsive — 63 percent
• The number of jobs in my profession has dropped significantly during and post-recession — 37 percent
• I am unable to relocate or commute far — 30 percent
• I am having difficulty transitioning skills to a new field or industry — 16 percent

Even when someone’s unemployment ends, there will still be lingering problems like loss of skills, having to pay off credit card or other debt built up during unemployment, and taking a job below one’s skills and necessary income level, further compounding the above problems.  The effects of unemployment from Obamacare and other bad policies will be felt for many years to come.