The number of Americans facing long-term unemployment, which includes people who cannot find work for 27 weeks or more, has been at record highs in recent months, ...
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“You have people who have lost contact with the labor market, whose skills are not relevant for jobs for the future, who employers regard with skepticism because they have been out of work for so long.”

I'm not sure I agree that things change so quickly that you lose the necesssary skills in 27 weeks. I'm not sure that even happens in two years. What has changed in the last two years that would make your skill set irrelevant?

And, is 39 old?

Kathy M. Henry, 39, who lives in a subsidized apartment on the South Side of Chicago,...
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“It’s a constant cycle,” she said. “I’ve applied everywhere, from big corporations to minute corporations, and I don’t even get an e-mail back. I’m worried people see me as old and out of touch and decrepit.”

I thought you had to be 50 or 60 to encounter age discrimination when searching for a job. Is it that 39 is not so old but a 39 year old wants a higher salary?