Follow Up on the Vicious Cycle of Unemployment

Back in February I wrote a blog post about the vicious cycle of unemployment where the unemployed find it harder and harder to get hired which just keeps them further away from being employed. Many states (like New Jersey) have gotten ahead of the federal government and has banned discrimination against the unemployed, but as a bill is going to be introduced before Congress banning this type of discrimination on a country-wide level, TIME Magazine took another look at what happens when companies refuse to hire the unemployed (H/T Wendy):

Refusing to hire people on the basis of race, religion, age or disability — among other categories — is illegal. But companies that turn away jobless people as a group are generally not breaking the law — at least for now.


Job seekers have long known, of course, that it's easier to land a job when you are still working. There are no hard data on discrimination against the unemployed. But there have been reports from across the country of companies' making clear in job listings that they are not interested in people who are out of work. Employment experts say other companies have policies of hiring only people with jobs — but do not publicly acknowledge their bias.

TIME did a lot of work in this issue profiling the out of work in America including profiles of some of those who are unemployed. Check it out and know that your refusal to hire someone who is unemployed could end up being illegal in the very near future.