That is a very good question. The assumption seems to be that the long term unemployed are all lazy and don’t really want or feel that they need a job. I’ve known a lot of people who are in that category and they will take any job including some who haul garbage, work day labor, sling french fries and try their best to land even an entry level job. Not hiring qualified unemployed only plays in the our socialist dictator’s plans to force as many as possible onto the welfare rolls. Where else will they go? Are they going to starve and let their families starve? Too many on these forums will say that the unemployed today are too lazy to go out and find a job when the truth is there are many less jobs today than six years ago and hiring managers generally won’t hire or consider even qualified applicants because they are long term unemployed. When we reach a certain level of unemployment then there won’t be enough consumers who can afford to pay for the goods and services that these companies and their hiring managers provide which puts many of them out of employment.
No, that is NOT the assumption. In fact, there is no assumption per se, but simply the REALIZATION that MOST (not all) people who lay out chronically are lazier than those who found something to do, regardless of how undesirable. There is also the realization that six months to a year off - even for good people - damages their ability to kick it back into gear. Yes, there are exceptions, but this is a "law of large numbers" universe and anecdotal evidence is irrelevant - interesting perhaps, but not significant.
I retired from the military after 25 years. After a few years of being retired, I want to work again. I’ve gone back to school because my military experience wasn’t relevant to most businesses.
I’ll be curious to see if employers refuse to hire me, either because I’ve been “unemployed” for a few years, or because I have retirement pay coming in and thus might not be as “hungry” as some.
The reality is I’d be a damn good worker. Four years of retirement has made me ready to go back and work for 10-15 years...but will anyone even look at me?