While December 2011 employment data (released in January 2012), showed the U.S. unemployment rate was continuing to trend down, the number of long-term unemployed held almost steady at 5.6 million. This group is comprised of individuals who have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, and makes up 42.5 percent of the total unemployed. The commonly flawed hiring process—lack of an acknowledgement of resume receipt, hiring managers who do not know what they want, inept interviewers, and little follow up by companies—is particularly frustrating for this group of individuals and the reasons are understandable.
