US Workers Taking Less Time to Land Jobs

Vicki Cook, 52, landed a job two weeks ago at a trucking company after applying for 50 positions in almost four months. “It was a blessing,” said the Okarche, Oklahoma, woman, whose previous job had been eliminated.

For 13 million out-of-work Americans, record spells of joblessness are abating. The median duration fell to 16 weeks in January from 25 weeks in June 2010, Labor Department data show. Fewer people compete for each opening as hiring expands, and persistent long-term unemployment is starting to mend.

The progress supports Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s view that America’s labor market remains flexible and isn’t succumbing to hysteresis, or permanently higher joblessness, similar to Europe in the 1980s, said Dale Mortensen, a professor of economics at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and 2010 Nobel laureate. That suggests continued monetary stimulus can bring about a faster healing.

Bloomberg

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