Early in the pandemic, there were lots of temporary job losses. Businesses were shut, temporarily. People were furloughed, temporarily, and would hopefully get back to work, eventually.
But now, 4 million people are suffering with long-term unemployment.
“That is exactly double what it was in January of 2020. So, the economy, in my view, is really stuck in a rut right now,” said Carl Van Horn, professor of public policy at Rutgers. He said unemployed people are stuck in a rut as well, due to “employment scarring,” in which the longer someone goes without a job, the harder it is to get a job.