US | unemployment Jobless Will Stay That Way—for Years Recovery robust enough to pull 15M off unemployment rolls unlikely By Polly Davis Doig Posted Feb 21, 2010 9:18 AM CST Copied Santilya Bailey of Detroit looks for employment while attending a job fair in Detroit, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) "Jobless recovery" is no mere catchphrase to the millions of Americans that the middle class has shed from its ranks. Many have been out of work for so long that they've exhausted unemployment benefits as the systems strains under what one expert says is "the reality of long-term unemployment" for which it was ill-prepared. And even as the economy turns around, the New York Times reports that jobs may in fact be years away. In normal times, the US needs to generate 100,000 new jobs monthly to cover new jobseekers—making the scope of a recovery that could pull 15 million Americans off unemployment rolls massive, prolonged, and improbable. “There are no bad jobs now,” says one middle-aged woman who has been jobless for two years. “Any job is a good job.” Read These Next The Bezos-Sanchez wedding: guest list, cost, the dress, and more. Trumps ends trade talks with Canada. This is why your cat loves sleeping on its left side. Cops nab 9th fugitive in New Orleans, with 'one more to go.' Report an error