> Who can afford to just sit around for months on end
> saying “Shit, sure would like a job”? [and not actually look
> for one]
The Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate in the US is about 64% these days; that means that 1:3 working-age-able-to-work people don't actually have a job. Do all of them "want" jobs? Clearly not. Should some of them who want jobs in an abstract way but haven't actually actively looked for one be counted in the statistic of "long-term unemployed" ...?
Where would you draw the line instead? 18 months? 3 years?
/jordan