A job fair at a community center in Beattyville, Kentucky, on July 28, 2021.
Jon Cherry/Bloomberg via Getty Images
About 3.4 million Americans were long-term unemployed in July, a reduction of about 560,000 from the prior month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, the figure remains elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels. About 2 in 5 jobless individuals are long-term unemployed, meaning they’ve been out of work at least six months.
The reduction came on the back of a stronger-than-expected July jobs report. Hiring rose at its fastest pace in almost a year, as the economy added 943,000 jobs and the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.4%.
The number of job openings jumped to more than 10 million in June, the highest on record, the Labor Department reported Monday.
The number of long-term unemployed remains 2.3 million higher than in February 2020. Nearly 2.5 million individuals were unemployed for at least a year in July, according to the BLS, down by 406,000 people from June.
