While the short-term unemployment rate (those unemployed for 26 weeks or less) has fallen back to its 2001-2007 pre-crisis average, the long-term unemployment rate remains higher than at any time since the measure was introduced in 1948. The long-term unemployed account for about 36% of total unemployment, down from nearly 46% in March 2011 but still far above the previous peak of 26% reached 30 years ago.
当衰退来袭时，所有教育水平工人的失业率都出现了剧增，并且至今没有降回衰退前水平。尽管短期失业率（失业26周或以下）已经降到2001—2007年危机前时期的平均水平以下，但长期失业率仍处于该指标自1948年发布以来的最高水平。长期失业占总失业的36%左右，低于2011年3月时的46%，但仍比30年前所录得的前期峰值26%高得多。