Survey finds long-term unemployment high in Iowa

Many unemployed Iowans are taking money from their retirement savings and struggling with stress because they have been out of work for so long, a new survey indicates.

Iowa Workforce Development said 76 percent of unemployed Iowans in a recent survey said they'd been without a job for over half a year.

More than 70 percent of survey respondents utilized retirement savings as living expenses and 77 percent reported high levels of stress over long periods of time.

The survey was conducted in cooperation with Iowa State University.

“The results demonstrate the overwhelming need for services designed to assist unemployed Iowans and the need for an extension of the federal extended unemployment insurance benefits,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Elisabeth Buck said.

“During the height of Iowa's recession, over 8,000 individuals were filing initial claims for unemployment benefits, more than double of typical filings.