Structural Unemployment: Overview, Causes, Example

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Sep 2, 2025 at 8:00 PM | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Structural unemployment occurs due to economy shifts, lasting longer than other types.
It results from skill mismatches, technological changes, or global competition.
Investors should monitor it as it impacts consumer purchasing and company profits.

We hear a lot about unemployment in the news, especially when monthly numbers come out, but most of what we get is a very limited look at shorter-term unemployment. One type of unemployment, structural unemployment, can be an indicator of more serious systemic issues in an economy.

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A person reaches out to touch a job search icon on a computer screen. — Image source: Getty Images.

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Choosing companies that offer things consumers must have to survive (such as food staples), companies that provide luxury goods (which are often unaffected by unemployment rates), or those that specifically market to lower-income Americans, is often the right move in times of high structural unemployment.

Because structural unemployment can last for years or decades, until workers are properly trained for the jobs available to them or new jobs move in that they can do without a lot of new training, any investing you do during these periods should be done with a long-term investing horizon in mind.

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

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