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Job hunts getting longer for some Iowans
Federal figures say it's taking longer for more out-of-work Iowans to find jobs.
According to The Des Moines Register, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics say 34,000 Iowans spent six months or more looking for work last year. That's an increase of 55 percent over 2009. And the number of Iowans looking for work 52 weeks or longer more than doubled, to 19,000.
Heidi Shierholz is an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. She says long-term unemployment will remain a problem for Iowa and the rest of the country for five more years.
Federal unemployment insurance extensions expire in December. Iowa workers have 47 weeks of unemployment insurance benefit extensions, in addition to the state's regular 26 weeks.
Federal figures say it's taking longer for more out-of-work Iowans to find jobs.
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