> It seems to be very difficult to get male long-termers back into the workforce.

This article seems to completely ignore what is probably the largest group of long-term unemployed: those who have simply given up on finding work because nobody will hire them.

Today's jobseeker is expected to submit hundreds or thousands of applications in the hope of receiving an offer. This leaves employers with hundreds or thousands of applicants for a single position, while leaving jobseekers exhausted, depressed, and mentally broken.

Additionally, it is expected that each application include a customized resume and cover letter, and if the jobseeker is lucky enough to land an interview then they can expect multiple rounds with multiple interviewers each looking for the slightest reason to exclude them from consideration.

Jobseeking in 2022 is a grinding, dehumanizing experience designed to crush the human spirit until there is nothing left but a desperate, obedient little worker drone.

It is pathological, intentionally and needlessly cruel to jobseekers, and the people who give up probably do so because the only alternative seems to be continued rejection, complete mental breakdown, and eventual suicide.