Millions still lack jobs after 6 months

WASHINGTON — As America prepares to salute its working people this Labor Day, Matthew McCaffery is in no mood to celebrate.

In better times, McCaffery served prime rib to three U.S. presidents, brought cocktails to members of Congress and found private booths for Supreme Court justices.

After 12 years as a senior waiter at The Prime Rib, one of Washington's most venerable eateries, McCaffery, 48, has been jobless for 13 months. Decades of working on his feet have left him with a bum knee that requires surgery, and his work history doesn't wow restaurant owners like it used to.

McCaffery is one of about 5 million Americans who have gone at least six months without a job.

Most in 60 years

That's the most since 1948, according to the Labor Department. These long-term jobless workers make up more than a third of the nation's 14.5 million unemployed workers, and their plight has become a signature trait of this recession.

With an average of six job seekers for every available position nationwide, it's becoming tougher to find that "next job."

If recent economic downturns are any indication, the suffering is far from over. When the last recession ended in November 2001, the jobless rate continued to rise for 19 months, before it peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003. A similar trend followed the end of the previous recession in March 1991.

In a positive sign, employers are increasing hours for employees, said Brian Bethune, the chief U.S. economist with IHS Global Insight. But that increased labor demand probably will lead to temporary and part-time hires before more full-time positions are added, he said.

"We're not going to see (major gains in) conventional types of employment. I don't think that's in the cards for another year at least and possibly two years," Bethune said.

In the meantime, workers such as McCaffery depend on their unemployment insurance. "I'm on my third extension," McCaffery said of his $310 weekly check.

Benefits near end

For 500,000 unemployed Americans, though, those benefits are set to expire by the end of September. A million more will exhaust their unemployment insurance by the end of the year unless Congress extends it again, according to the National Employment Law Project, a New York-based group that advocates for extended jobless benefits.

Harold G. Kaufman, who heads the graduate program in organizational behavior at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, has studied the emotional toll of long-term unemployment. He said long bouts of joblessness can cause a person's mental state to deteriorate, leading to lower self-esteem, less motivation and a feeling they've lost control.

"That's critical because that leads to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness," Kaufman said.

In that situation, some people develop stress-related illnesses, while others become destructive toward themselves and others, which can lead to family problems. Others deal with the stress by disengaging socially and avoiding friends and family.

"They build a cocoon to buffer themselves from being rejected by the working world and others who may see them as not succeeding in life," Kaufman said.