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Policy makers should be compelled to take action given the serious costs of long-term unemployment when overall unemployment is already high. A week of unemployment is worse when it is experienced as part of a longer spell.
Janet Yellen
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Long-term unemployment exacerbates suffering during periods of high overall unemployment.

Janet Yellen's quote highlights the urgency for policy makers to address the dire consequences of prolonged unemployment, especially when the general unemployment rate is already elevated. Long-term unemployment doesn’t just diminish a person's financial stability; it also harms their mental and emotional well-being, creating a cycle of disadvantage that is difficult to break.

Themes

UnemploymentPolicyEconomicsActionCosts

In practice

Example use cases

Use this quote during a discussion on economic policy reforms.

More from Janet Yellen

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We need to keep in mind the well-established fact that the full effects of monetary policy are felt only after long lags. This means that policy makers cannot wait until they have achieved their objectives to begin adjusting policy.
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For decades, the pace of technological change in manufacturing has outstripped that in the economy as a whole. And, so, firms - manufacturing firms - have found it easier to continue producing by - with - reducing their workforces.
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Inequality has risen to the point that it seems to me worthwhile for the U.S. to seriously consider taking the risk of making our economy more rewarding for more of the people.
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