The typical unemployed worker today has been out of work for nearly six months (23.2 weeks). This is almost double the previous post-World War II peak for this measure—12.3 weeks—in 1982-83. Long-term unemployment of this magnitude and duration raises a vexing question: Beyond a “normal” cyclical downturn, might the U.S. economy be going through some long-term structural changes that will lead to relatively high rates of unemployment for years to come?