Putting the Long-Term Unemployed Back to Work

There are more than five million Americans who have been actively seeking a job for six months or longer. The so-called long-term unemployed represent 40% of all unemployed workers, and face the additional challenges of job-search fatigue and a lengthy period during which they lack previous levels of regular income, or none at all.

Citi Community Development is now working with The WorkPlace on the national expansion of the highly successful Platform to Employment (P2E) program, which creates a pathway to employment for the long-term unemployed. P2E, which began in southwestern Connecticut, will be expanded to address the specific needs of unemployed workers over 50 and military veterans, thanks to additional support from AARP Foundation and the Walmart Foundation. Starting in January, P2E will launch replication sites in 10 U.S. cities, beginning with Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas and San Diego.

P2E focuses on supporting the needs of those who often worked for decades before becoming unemployed and who now face significant challenges in securing employment while also managing a different household financial situation.

With support from Citi, P2E participants receive financial counseling and credit rebuilding assistance so they are better equipped to face the significant financial challenges many families confront during extended periods of unemployment. P2E clients will not only receive job readiness skills and enter a system to get matched with local career opportunities, but they will also be counseled on refining their household money management skills and tools to begin to rebuild their credit at a time when many are financially overextended.

P2E is a proven model that demonstrates that the right job readiness programming, combined with personal and family support services and financial counseling, can return the long-term unemployed to the workforce. In Connecticut, P2E has placed more than 70% of program participants into work experience programs, with nearly 90% of these individuals moving on to full-time employment. Led by Lily Lopez, Connecticut State Director for Citi Community Development, we are pleased to collaborate with our fellow supporters in building the capacity of The WorkPlace to dramatically scale this essential program nationwide and to support many more Americans in rebuilding their professional and financial identities.

Earlier this year, Citi was nationally recognized for its support of P2E with the American Bankers Association's first-ever Community Commitment Award for Economic Development. Click here to read more about the award.