Figure A

Short-term and long-term unemployment rates, 1979–2014

Date Short-term unemployment rate Long-term unemployment rate
1979/01/01 5.3% 0.5%
1979/02/01 5.4% 0.5%
1979/03/01 5.3% 0.6%
1979/04/01 5.3% 0.5%
1979/05/01 5.2% 0.5%
1979/06/01 5.2% 0.5%
1979/07/01 5.3% 0.4%
1979/08/01 5.5% 0.5%
1979/09/01 5.3% 0.5%
1979/10/01 5.4% 0.5%
1979/11/01 5.3% 0.5%
1979/12/01 5.4% 0.5%
1980/01/01 5.7% 0.5%
1980/02/01 5.8% 0.5%
1980/03/01 5.8% 0.6%
1980/04/01 6.3% 0.6%
1980/05/01 6.9% 0.7%
1980/06/01 6.8% 0.7%
1980/07/01 6.9% 0.8%
1980/08/01 6.8% 0.9%
1980/09/01 6.6% 0.9%
1980/10/01 6.5% 1.0%
1980/11/01 6.4% 1.1%
1980/12/01 6.1% 1.1%
1981/01/01 6.3% 1.2%
1981/02/01 6.3% 1.2%
1981/03/01 6.3% 1.1%
1981/04/01 6.2% 1.0%
1981/05/01 6.5% 1.1%
1981/06/01 6.3% 1.0%
1981/07/01 6.3% 1.0%
1981/08/01 6.3% 1.1%
1981/09/01 6.6% 1.0%
1981/10/01 6.9% 1.0%
1981/11/01 7.2% 1.0%
1981/12/01 7.5% 1.1%
1982/01/01 7.5% 1.1%
1982/02/01 7.7% 1.2%
1982/03/01 7.9% 1.2%
1982/04/01 8.0% 1.4%
1982/05/01 8.0% 1.5%
1982/06/01 7.9% 1.6%
1982/07/01 8.1% 1.6%
1982/08/01 8.2% 1.7%
1982/09/01 8.4% 1.8%
1982/10/01 8.4% 2.0%
1982/11/01 8.7% 2.1%
1982/12/01 8.5% 2.3%
1983/01/01 8.1% 2.4%
1983/02/01 8.0% 2.5%
1983/03/01 7.7% 2.5%
1983/04/01 7.5% 2.5%
1983/05/01 7.5% 2.5%
1983/06/01 7.3% 2.6%
1983/07/01 7.2% 2.3%
1983/08/01 7.3% 2.3%
1983/09/01 7.1% 2.2%
1983/10/01 6.8% 2.0%
1983/11/01 6.6% 1.9%
1983/12/01 6.5% 1.8%
1984/01/01 6.3% 1.8%
1984/02/01 6.2% 1.6%
1984/03/01 6.2% 1.6%
1984/04/01 6.1% 1.6%
1984/05/01 5.9% 1.5%
1984/06/01 5.8% 1.4%
1984/07/01 6.1% 1.4%
1984/08/01 6.2% 1.3%
1984/09/01 6.1% 1.3%
1984/10/01 6.1% 1.3%
1984/11/01 5.9% 1.2%
1984/12/01 6.1% 1.2%
1985/01/01 6.2% 1.1%
1985/02/01 6.1% 1.2%
1985/03/01 6.1% 1.2%
1985/04/01 6.1% 1.2%
1985/05/01 6.2% 1.1%
1985/06/01 6.2% 1.1%
1985/07/01 6.2% 1.1%
1985/08/01 6.1% 1.1%
1985/09/01 6.1% 1.1%
1985/10/01 6.1% 1.0%
1985/11/01 5.9% 1.1%
1985/12/01 6.0% 1.0%
1986/01/01 5.8% 0.9%
1986/02/01 6.2% 1.0%
1986/03/01 6.2% 1.0%
1986/04/01 6.2% 1.0%
1986/05/01 6.2% 1.0%
1986/06/01 6.1% 1.1%
1986/07/01 6.0% 1.0%
1986/08/01 5.9% 1.0%
1986/09/01 6.0% 1.0%
1986/10/01 5.9% 1.0%
1986/11/01 5.9% 1.0%
1986/12/01 5.7% 1.0%
1987/01/01 5.7% 1.0%
1987/02/01 5.7% 0.9%
1987/03/01 5.6% 0.9%
1987/04/01 5.4% 0.9%
1987/05/01 5.3% 0.9%
1987/06/01 5.3% 0.9%
1987/07/01 5.3% 0.8%
1987/08/01 5.1% 0.9%
1987/09/01 5.1% 0.8%
1987/10/01 5.2% 0.8%
1987/11/01 5.1% 0.8%
1987/12/01 5.0% 0.7%
1988/01/01 5.0% 0.7%
1988/02/01 5.0% 0.7%
1988/03/01 5.0% 0.7%
1988/04/01 4.8% 0.7%
1988/05/01 4.9% 0.7%
1988/06/01 4.7% 0.7%
1988/07/01 4.8% 0.7%
1988/08/01 4.9% 0.7%
1988/09/01 4.7% 0.7%
1988/10/01 4.7% 0.6%
1988/11/01 4.8% 0.6%
1988/12/01 4.7% 0.6%
1989/01/01 4.8% 0.6%
1989/02/01 4.7% 0.5%
1989/03/01 4.5% 0.5%
1989/04/01 4.7% 0.6%
1989/05/01 4.7% 0.5%
1989/06/01 4.8% 0.5%
1989/07/01 4.8% 0.5%
1989/08/01 4.7% 0.5%
1989/09/01 4.8% 0.5%
1989/10/01 4.8% 0.5%
1989/11/01 4.9% 0.5%
1989/12/01 4.8% 0.5%
1990/01/01 4.8% 0.5%
1990/02/01 4.8% 0.5%
1990/03/01 4.8% 0.5%
1990/04/01 4.9% 0.5%
1990/05/01 4.9% 0.5%
1990/06/01 4.8% 0.5%
1990/07/01 5.0% 0.5%
1990/08/01 5.1% 0.6%
1990/09/01 5.2% 0.6%
1990/10/01 5.3% 0.6%
1990/11/01 5.5% 0.7%
1990/12/01 5.6% 0.7%
1991/01/01 5.6% 0.7%
1991/02/01 5.8% 0.7%
1991/03/01 6.1% 0.8%
1991/04/01 5.9% 0.8%
1991/05/01 6.1% 0.8%
1991/06/01 6.1% 0.9%
1991/07/01 5.9% 0.9%
1991/08/01 5.9% 0.9%
1991/09/01 5.9% 0.9%
1991/10/01 6.0% 1.0%
1991/11/01 6.0% 1.1%
1991/12/01 6.1% 1.2%
1992/01/01 6.0% 1.3%
1992/02/01 6.1% 1.3%
1992/03/01 6.0% 1.4%
1992/04/01 5.9% 1.4%
1992/05/01 6.0% 1.5%
1992/06/01 6.2% 1.7%
1992/07/01 6.0% 1.7%
1992/08/01 6.0% 1.6%
1992/09/01 6.0% 1.6%
1992/10/01 5.7% 1.7%
1992/11/01 5.9% 1.6%
1992/12/01 5.9% 1.6%
1993/01/01 5.7% 1.5%
1993/02/01 5.7% 1.5%
1993/03/01 5.6% 1.4%
1993/04/01 5.7% 1.3%
1993/05/01 5.7% 1.4%
1993/06/01 5.7% 1.4%
1993/07/01 5.5% 1.4%
1993/08/01 5.4% 1.4%
1993/09/01 5.4% 1.4%
1993/10/01 5.5% 1.4%
1993/11/01 5.2% 1.4%
1993/12/01 5.2% 1.4%
1994/01/01 5.3% 1.3%
1994/02/01 5.2% 1.3%
1994/03/01 5.1% 1.4%
1994/04/01 4.9% 1.3%
1994/05/01 4.8% 1.3%
1994/06/01 4.9% 1.2%
1994/07/01 4.9% 1.2%
1994/08/01 4.9% 1.2%
1994/09/01 4.7% 1.2%
1994/10/01 4.6% 1.2%
1994/11/01 4.5% 1.1%
1994/12/01 4.4% 1.0%
1995/01/01 4.5% 1.0%
1995/02/01 4.5% 0.9%
1995/03/01 4.4% 1.0%
1995/04/01 4.6% 1.1%
1995/05/01 4.7% 1.0%
1995/06/01 4.6% 0.9%
1995/07/01 4.7% 0.9%
1995/08/01 4.8% 0.9%
1995/09/01 4.7% 1.0%
1995/10/01 4.6% 0.9%
1995/11/01 4.7% 0.9%
1995/12/01 4.7% 0.9%
1996/01/01 4.7% 0.9%
1996/02/01 4.6% 0.9%
1996/03/01 4.5% 1.0%
1996/04/01 4.5% 1.0%
1996/05/01 4.6% 1.0%
1996/06/01 4.3% 1.0%
1996/07/01 4.4% 1.0%
1996/08/01 4.2% 0.9%
1996/09/01 4.3% 0.9%
1996/10/01 4.4% 0.9%
1996/11/01 4.5% 0.8%
1996/12/01 4.4% 0.9%
1997/01/01 4.4% 0.8%
1997/02/01 4.4% 0.8%
1997/03/01 4.4% 0.8%
1997/04/01 4.2% 0.8%
1997/05/01 4.2% 0.8%
1997/06/01 4.2% 0.8%
1997/07/01 4.1% 0.8%
1997/08/01 4.1% 0.8%
1997/09/01 4.1% 0.8%
1997/10/01 4.0% 0.8%
1997/11/01 3.9% 0.7%
1997/12/01 3.9% 0.7%
1998/01/01 3.9% 0.7%
1998/02/01 3.9% 0.7%
1998/03/01 4.1% 0.7%
1998/04/01 3.7% 0.6%
1998/05/01 3.8% 0.6%
1998/06/01 4.0% 0.6%
1998/07/01 3.9% 0.6%
1998/08/01 3.9% 0.6%
1998/09/01 3.9% 0.7%
1998/10/01 3.9% 0.6%
1998/11/01 3.8% 0.6%
1998/12/01 3.7% 0.6%
1999/01/01 3.8% 0.5%
1999/02/01 3.8% 0.6%
1999/03/01 3.7% 0.5%
1999/04/01 3.9% 0.5%
1999/05/01 3.7% 0.5%
1999/06/01 3.7% 0.6%
1999/07/01 3.7% 0.5%
1999/08/01 3.7% 0.5%
1999/09/01 3.7% 0.5%
1999/10/01 3.6% 0.5%
1999/11/01 3.6% 0.5%
1999/12/01 3.5% 0.5%
2000/01/01 3.5% 0.5%
2000/02/01 3.6% 0.4%
2000/03/01 3.7% 0.5%
2000/04/01 3.5% 0.4%
2000/05/01 3.6% 0.5%
2000/06/01 3.5% 0.4%
2000/07/01 3.5% 0.5%
2000/08/01 3.6% 0.5%
2000/09/01 3.5% 0.5%
2000/10/01 3.5% 0.4%
2000/11/01 3.5% 0.4%
2000/12/01 3.5% 0.4%
2001/01/01 3.7% 0.5%
2001/02/01 3.8% 0.5%
2001/03/01 3.9% 0.5%
2001/04/01 4.0% 0.5%
2001/05/01 3.9% 0.4%
2001/06/01 3.9% 0.5%
2001/07/01 4.0% 0.5%
2001/08/01 4.3% 0.6%
2001/09/01 4.4% 0.6%
2001/10/01 4.7% 0.6%
2001/11/01 4.8% 0.8%
2001/12/01 5.0% 0.8%
2002/01/01 4.9% 0.8%
2002/02/01 4.8% 0.8%
2002/03/01 4.9% 0.9%
2002/04/01 5.0% 1.0%
2002/05/01 4.7% 1.1%
2002/06/01 4.7% 1.1%
2002/07/01 4.7% 1.1%
2002/08/01 4.7% 1.1%
2002/09/01 4.6% 1.1%
2002/10/01 4.6% 1.1%
2002/11/01 4.7% 1.2%
2002/12/01 4.7% 1.3%
2003/01/01 4.7% 1.2%
2003/02/01 4.6% 1.3%
2003/03/01 4.6% 1.2%
2003/04/01 4.7% 1.3%
2003/05/01 4.8% 1.3%
2003/06/01 4.8% 1.4%
2003/07/01 4.8% 1.3%
2003/08/01 4.8% 1.4%
2003/09/01 4.7% 1.4%
2003/10/01 4.6% 1.3%
2003/11/01 4.5% 1.4%
2003/12/01 4.4% 1.3%
2004/01/01 4.4% 1.3%
2004/02/01 4.3% 1.3%
2004/03/01 4.4% 1.4%
2004/04/01 4.3% 1.2%
2004/05/01 4.4% 1.2%
2004/06/01 4.3% 1.3%
2004/07/01 4.4% 1.1%
2004/08/01 4.4% 1.1%
2004/09/01 4.2% 1.2%
2004/10/01 4.3% 1.2%
2004/11/01 4.2% 1.1%
2004/12/01 4.3% 1.1%
2005/01/01 4.1% 1.1%
2005/02/01 4.3% 1.1%
2005/03/01 4.0% 1.1%
2005/04/01 4.1% 1.1%
2005/05/01 4.1% 1.0%
2005/06/01 4.1% 0.9%
2005/07/01 4.0% 0.9%
2005/08/01 4.0% 0.9%
2005/09/01 4.1% 1.0%
2005/10/01 4.1% 0.9%
2005/11/01 4.1% 0.9%
2005/12/01 3.9% 0.9%
2006/01/01 3.9% 0.8%
2006/02/01 3.9% 0.9%
2006/03/01 3.8% 0.9%
2006/04/01 3.9% 0.9%
2006/05/01 3.8% 0.9%
2006/06/01 3.8% 0.8%
2006/07/01 3.9% 0.9%
2006/08/01 3.8% 0.9%
2006/09/01 3.7% 0.8%
2006/10/01 3.7% 0.7%
2006/11/01 3.8% 0.7%
2006/12/01 3.7% 0.7%
2007/01/01 3.8% 0.7%
2007/02/01 3.7% 0.8%
2007/03/01 3.6% 0.8%
2007/04/01 3.7% 0.8%
2007/05/01 3.8% 0.7%
2007/06/01 3.8% 0.7%
2007/07/01 3.8% 0.8%
2007/08/01 3.8% 0.8%
2007/09/01 3.9% 0.8%
2007/10/01 3.9% 0.8%
2007/11/01 3.8% 0.9%
2007/12/01 4.1% 0.9%
2008/01/01 4.0% 0.9%
2008/02/01 4.0% 0.9%
2008/03/01 4.2% 0.9%
2008/04/01 4.1% 0.9%
2008/05/01 4.5% 1.0%
2008/06/01 4.6% 1.0%
2008/07/01 4.6% 1.1%
2008/08/01 4.9% 1.2%
2008/09/01 4.8% 1.3%
2008/10/01 5.1% 1.5%
2008/11/01 5.4% 1.4%
2008/12/01 5.6% 1.7%
2009/01/01 6.0% 1.8%
2009/02/01 6.4% 1.9%
2009/03/01 6.6% 2.1%
2009/04/01 6.5% 2.4%
2009/05/01 6.9% 2.6%
2009/06/01 6.9% 2.8%
2009/07/01 6.2% 3.2%
2009/08/01 6.3% 3.3%
2009/09/01 6.2% 3.6%
2009/10/01 6.4% 3.7%
2009/11/01 5.9% 3.8%
2009/12/01 5.9% 4.0%
2010/01/01 5.8% 4.1%
2010/02/01 5.8% 4.0%
2010/03/01 5.6% 4.3%
2010/04/01 5.3% 4.4%
2010/05/01 5.3% 4.3%
2010/06/01 5.3% 4.3%
2010/07/01 5.2% 4.2%
2010/08/01 5.4% 4.0%
2010/09/01 5.5% 4.0%
2010/10/01 5.5% 4.1%
2010/11/01 5.6% 4.1%
2010/12/01 5.2% 4.2%
2011/01/01 5.2% 4.1%
2011/02/01 5.1% 3.9%
2011/03/01 4.9% 4.0%
2011/04/01 5.1% 3.8%
2011/05/01 5.0% 4.0%
2011/06/01 5.1% 4.0%
2011/07/01 5.0% 4.0%
2011/08/01 5.1% 3.9%
2011/09/01 5.0% 4.1%
2011/10/01 5.1% 3.8%
2011/11/01 4.9% 3.7%
2011/12/01 4.9% 3.6%
2012/01/01 4.7% 3.6%
2012/02/01 4.8% 3.5%
2012/03/01 4.8% 3.4%
2012/04/01 4.8% 3.3%
2012/05/01 4.7% 3.5%
2012/06/01 4.8% 3.4%
2012/07/01 4.9% 3.3%
2012/08/01 4.9% 3.2%
2012/09/01 4.6% 3.1%
2012/10/01 4.7% 3.2%
2012/11/01 4.6% 3.1%
2012/12/01 4.8% 3.1%
2013/01/01 4.9% 3.0%
2013/02/01 4.6% 3.1%
2013/03/01 4.6% 3.0%
2013/04/01 4.7% 2.8%
2013/05/01 4.7% 2.8%
2013/06/01 4.8% 2.8%
2013/07/01 4.6% 2.7%
2013/08/01 4.5% 2.7%
2013/09/01 4.5% 2.7%
2013/10/01 4.7% 2.6%
2013/11/01 4.4% 2.6%
2013/12/01 4.1% 2.5%
2014/01/01 4.2% 2.3%
2014/02/01 4.2% 2.5%
2014/03/01 4.3% 2.4%
2014/04/01 4.1% 2.2%
2014/05/01 4.1% 2.2%
2014/06/01 4.0% 2.0%
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Note: Shaded areas denote recessions.

Source: Authors' analysis of  the Current Population Survey public data series from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

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