... unemployed for a year or more. In December 2009, nearly three and a halfmillion Americans, or 23 percent of the unemployed, hadbeen jobless for a year or longer.22A YEAR OR MORE: THE HIGH COST OF LONG- TERM ... Unemployed for One Year or More, by AgeFIGURE 4: Unemployed for One Year or More, by AgeFIGURE 5: Overall Unemployment Rate, by EducationFIGURE 6: Unemployed for One Year or More, by EducationFIGURE ... out of work for a year or longer in December 2009.The percentage steadily increases with age: More than 29 percent of unemployedpeople older than 55 had been out of work for a year or more—a...