Unemployment spells for workers are becoming longer in some countries compared to the pre-crisis situation in 2008, according to the new edition of the ILO Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM). “Headlines on a recent decline in unemployment rates hide the bitter reality that many jobless workers are finding it increasingly difficult to get into a new job within a reasonable period of time of 6 months or less,” says Ekkehard Ernst, chief of the ILO Employment Trends Unit. Chances of a job seeker finding a job within a year For example, in Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Serbia and Bulgaria, long-term unemployment has increased by 40 per cent or more in comparison to 2008.