---
title: "Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks)"
slug: the-long-haul
summary: "Long-term unemployed share was little changed at 27.1% of the jobless in September 2026"
category: "The Deal"
unit: percent
frequency: monthly
direction: bidirectional
latest_value: 27.1
latest_period: "2026-09"
trend: stable
last_updated: "2026-10-02T00:00:00Z"
source: "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED"
source_url: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS13025703
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks).\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks).\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/."
---

# Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks)

Also tracked as The Long Haul.

> Long-term unemployed share was little changed at 27.1% of the jobless in September 2026

## Current Reading

As of September 2026, Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks) is **27.1%** (stable).

Share of unemployed people who have been looking for work 27 weeks or longer, BLS, seasonally adjusted, up from 23.6% a year earlier.

## What Changed

- The long-term unemployed share was little changed at 27.1% of the unemployed in September 2026, compared with 27% in August 2026.
- Higher than a year earlier, when it was 23.6%.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-09 | 27.1% |
| 2026-08 | 27% |
| 2026-07 | 25.5% |
| 2026-06 | 27.3% |
| 2026-05 | 27.5% |
| 2026-04 | 25.3% |
| 2026-03 | 25.4% |
| 2026-02 | 25.3% |
| 2026-01 | 24.7% |
| 2025-12 | 26% |
| 2025-11 | 24.4% |
| 2025-09 | 23.6% |

## Historical Context

This series is not comparable end to end, so no all-time extreme or long-run average is published for it. The source changed what it measures on the following date(s):

- January 1994: BLS redesigned the Current Population Survey questionnaire and collection methods in January 1994, and BLS researchers found the redesign affected duration-of-unemployment statistics, so earlier values are not directly comparable. Source: https://www.bls.gov/cps/revisions1994.pdf

Compare readings only within a single segment. Subtracting across one of these dates measures the change in method, not in household conditions.

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as moving in both directions against household distress, with no single end of the range reading as the distressed one. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED — [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS13025703](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS13025703)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-02T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [continued-unemployment-claims-sa](https://americandefault.org/indicators/continued-unemployment-claims-sa/)
- [u-6-underemployment-rate](https://americandefault.org/indicators/u-6-underemployment-rate/)
- [unemployment-rate](https://americandefault.org/indicators/unemployment-rate/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/the-long-haul.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/the-long-haul.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-long-haul.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-long-haul.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks)." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Long-Term Unemployed Share (27+ Weeks)." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-long-haul/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.