Long-Term Jobless Numbers Decline: A Positive Sign?

WASHINGTON -- Fewer people were out of work for longer than six months in October, which could signal that the long-term jobless are finding jobs. But maybe not.

The number of long-term unemployed fell 366,000 to 5.9 million, the Labor Department announced Friday. But since it first topped 6 million at the end of 2009, the size of the population coping with six or more months of joblessness hasn't changed much. The latest datapoint represents the third time the number of long-term jobless dipped below 6 million this year. Each of the two previous times, it went back above 6 million the next month.   Read Here