Industry
In 2013, a disproportionate share of unemployed workers had been employed in four industries:
leisure and hospitality; construction; professional and business services; and wholesale and retail
trade. But, none of the workers who had been employed in these industries were more likely than
other workers to have been out of work for two years or more.
In 2013, 9.4% of persons with jobs worked in the leisure and hospitality industries, but 14.5% of
unemployed workers had worked in these industries. While 12.6% of all unemployed workers
had been out of work for two or more years, persons who had been employed in the leisure and
hospitality industries were less likely, 10.3%, than other workers to have been looking for work
for two years or more.14
Although they were not overrepresented among unemployed workers in 2013, unemployed
workers who had worked in two industries—financial activities and manufacturing—were
overrepresented among the very long-term unemployed. An estimated 15.8% of unemployed
workers who had worked in financial activities had been out of work for two years or more.
Similarly, approximately 15.1% of workers who had been employed in manufacturing had been
looking for work for two years or longer.