3 job seekers who have been looking for steady work for over a year share what it's like dealing with a long-term job hunt

"The US job market has changed a lot since Berman and other job seekers who have been out of work for a year or longer started looking. Workers who have jobs are staying put in their roles, job openings are stagnant, and those on the outside - who may have been thrust there by layoffs or downsizing - are finding it increasingly harder to claw their way back in."

"For job seekers who have been on the hunt for a while, it's meant a soul-searching process. People have had to switch up their strategies, figure out how to fill in experience gaps, and pick themselves up after not making it through interviews. Longer term, it might mean a hiring market that has to tolerate and embrace résumés with larger holes, while workers pivot to figure out their ne"

Yvette Berman was laid off from an IT consulting firm in late 2023 as she neared retirement, after her husband had been laid off months earlier. She has networked and attended a few interviews but feels pessimistic amid long searches and friends shifting to entrepreneurship or contract work. Workers currently employed are staying in their roles while job openings remain stagnant. Just over a quarter of unemployed workers in August had been out of work and seeking a new job for at least 27 weeks, the highest share since February 2022. Longer jobless spells are forcing job seekers to change strategies, fill experience gaps, and accept résumés with larger holes.

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