While job growth in March may be the first welcome sign that the worst is over in terms of job loss, approximately 8 million jobs have been lost in the past three years, and it will take sustained, robust job growth for some time to return all those workers to jobs. Other indicators also suggest a challenging employment picture ahead.
Specifically, data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates the unemployed, on average, are remaining unemployed longer than in the past. And more people are underemployed as employers reduce costs by shifting to part-time staffing models. 3 So far, most of the stabilization in the unemployment rate has come from a sharp reduction in layoffs and terminations.