More workers identified themselves as permanently laid off and unemployed for the long term in September, a sign that the labor market’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is likely to be slow and protracted, the Wall Street Journal reported. While millions of workers have returned to jobs that were suspended this spring due to the virus, those that weren’t called back face the rising prospect of prolonged joblessness and income loss. Those same challenges were a feature of the slow economic recovery from the 2007-09 recession. In April, the most severe month for job loss in the current downturn, 88 percent of those who recently lost jobs reported their layoff as temporary, meaning they expected to return to the same role within six months, according to the Labor Department. In September, the share of such optimists fell to 51 percent, Friday’s jobs report showed. Meanwhile, those reporting themselves as permanent job losers rose to 3.8 million in September, from 2 million in April. That figure could rise further in October as airlines and Walt Disney Co. informed thousands of workers this week that temporary furloughs will become permanent layoffs. Many of those who lost jobs are struggling to find other work. Last month, 58 percent of unemployed workers had been out of a job for at least three months, including 19 percent off the job for at least six, and who are considered long-term unemployed.
