ABSTRACT
This chapter explains more fully why some displaced workers are more likely than others to remain jobless for long periods. It discusses the reemployment problems of less-educated and older workers, as well as those of racial minorities, and presents information from the DWS on the extent of their long-term joblessness. The chapter also discusses the social psychological importance of the work role and the negative effects of prolonged unemployment. The work lives of a sizable fraction of the displaced population are severely disrupted, and the difficulties they experience finding new jobs are indicative of labor market disadvantage. Attributing the duration of unemployment spells to wage expectations alone not only ignores the institutional barriers to job search, it also overlooks the importance of the work role and the social and psychological effects of long-term joblessness. The importance of the work role to individual and communal well-being emerges more starkly in ethnographic studies of the unemployed.
