Laid-off engineer Alan Gronlund, 58, scours Internet job boards as long as four or five hours a day.

Eighteen-year-old Margarita Garcia paid thousands of dollars for training so she could land a medical-assistant job to help her support her baby. Months after graduation, she has only a temporary clerical position.

Bill Mikanovich is close to exhausting his unemployment benefits, and he has lost his house to foreclosure.

Unemployment hasn't been a brief pit stop between jobs in this recession. Increasingly, workers have been jobless for months and often for more than a year. The economic slump has lessened the stigma of losing a job, but the extended time out of work takes a devastating financial and emotional toll on the unemployed and their families.

Nearly half of Arizona's unemployed, or about 150,000 workers of the 310,900 unemployed as of September, have been out of work six months or longer, said Frank Curtis, an economist at the Arizona Department of Commerce.

By comparison, when Arizona emerged from the 2001-02 recession, only about 24 percent, or 40,000, of the 164,000 jobless during that time had been jobless six months or longer.

Many of the long-term jobless are refugees from the hardest-hit sectors, including real-estate and construction workers, engineers and information-technology professionals. Many are 50 or older. Another large segment consists of young people struggling to secure their first real job.

Many feel trapped in a cycle of submitting resumes that are never acknowledged and networking efforts that never gain traction. As the months pass, their job skills can soften and their finances deteriorate. Even the most optimistic worry that months of rejection have chipped away at their self-esteem.

Although the state's economic growth has ticked up slightly, Arizona lost 261,700 jobs, or 10 percent of its total, during the U.S. recession that lasted from December 2007 to June 2009. Arizona's 9.7 percent unemployment rate proves that only a trickle of jobs has been created in the early days of recovery.

Nearly one in 10 are out of work, and about that many are considered underemployed, according to federal statistics. Consumer spending remains weak, making potential employers less likely to replace workers who leave for other jobs or to add new employees to their payrolls.

Financial pressures for those unemployed more than 26 weeks could increase if Congress next month fails to pass an extension to long-term unemployment benefits. The extension has drawn strong opposition from lawmakers who are concerned about the national deficit. Extended benefits end Nov 30.

Job creation is expected to be a major issue next year at the state Legislature, where a bill designed to spur job growth and make Arizona more competitive is likely to be reintroduced after foundering in 2010.

But outside the bright lights of political debate, the human toll of joblessness in Arizona continues to mount.

The 99ers

Some of the unemployed call themselves 99ers - they have used all 99 weeks of available jobless benefits.

From January 2008 to Sept. 30 of this year, 24,092 Arizonans had either used up the maximum 99 weeks or close to it if their eligibility for jobless aid ended just before they reached the maximum, according to the Department of Economic Security.

The agency estimates that a total of 280,610 people have exhausted all of their jobless benefits. That figure includes those who received 99 weeks of aid and those who qualified for fewer weeks.

It's unknown how many of these people have found work and how many are still looking.

The ranks of the long-term unemployed also include thousands who may not have been eligible for unemployment, such as real-estate agents, hairdressers and other professionals who work as independent contractors.

Also ineligible are new graduates from high schools, colleges and training programs who are struggling to start careers.

In a job market thick with candidates, employers have grown extremely selective. If a job calls for a specific skill, managers often ask applicants if they have used that skill within the past three months.

Scott Baird of Scottsdale was out of work for 18 months before he was rehired in September by his previous employer. "Every day that a person spends out of the workforce is one more black mark against them when they go out to look for a job," he said.

Black holes

Staying upbeat can be challenging.

Part of the difficulty is that the way people should look for jobs has changed dramatically. Employers require people to submit applications via the Internet, and hiring managers sift through queries with special computer programs.

If an application doesn't make the cut, there is usually no rejection letter or feedback.

"You really don't know what the competition is," said Gronlund, the laid-off engineer. The Phoenix resident lost his job in February 2009. "It's like submitting to a black hole."

The process can be frustrating and demoralizing.

"People who have been out of work for a long period of time have trouble maintaining their enthusiasm" for the hunt, said Patrick Burkhart, who oversees Maricopa County's Workforce Development Division.

Mikanovich, who lost his home to foreclosure, knows that firsthand.

"Never in a million years would I have thought I would be out of work at 62," said Mikanovich, who was laid off from his job as a product engineer in 2009.

But Mikanovich, who now lives in a one-bedroom apartment, says he knows it's only a matter of time before he finds a job.

"It's a numbers game," he said. "You have to be at the right thing at the right time."

Cyclical effects

Long-term unemployment has a devastating financial impact.

After months of unemployment, savings accounts run dry. Rent, the mortgage or other bills don't get paid. It's not uncommon for Arizona's jobless to double up in apartments, depend on food stamps or to declare bankruptcy. State residents are on track to file a record number of bankruptcies this year - roughly 40,000, which would be 17 percent higher than last year.

The personal financial struggles have a cyclical effect on the economy.

When people are unemployed a long time, they sharply cut spending, which means fewer customers for businesses, said Lee McPheters, an economics professor at Arizona State University. Without customers, businesses won't hire more workers. Declining sales also mean less tax revenue to pay for safety-net programs.

State efforts

Government leaders say they are trying to bring more jobs to Arizona.

Gov. Jan Brewer has overhauled the state's Department of Commerce so it can play a more direct role in attracting and retaining businesses. She created a jobs task force and plans to shape legislation to cut corporate income taxes and create a more business-friendly climate.

When the state Legislature returns to work in January, job creation will likely be a top issue.

The state's GOP-controlled House and Senate failed to pass a jobs bill last session that would have cut business taxes and helped spur jobs. Majority Leader John McComish said there may be more success with the next bill if there is more early collaboration among Republicans themselves and with economic development officials.

Last session, lawmakers focused on social issues, such as "gays, guns and abortion," so economic policy didn't get as much attention, said Rep. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, the exiting chair of the House Commerce Committee. Although those issues are important, it's time to shift back to the economy, Reagan said.

McComish supports an idea that the state should funnel financial incentives to businesses that make goods in Arizona that are sold outside the state. Those businesses have a bigger economic ripple effect, many economists say.

That idea is also supported by Attorney General Terry Goddard, Democratic candidate for governor.

He advocates spearheading programs that will help small businesses, including a three-year tax deferral for new businesses, initiatives to lure venture capital and committing more state money to job training.

As politicians debate the best path, Garcia, the 18-year-old medical assistant, is still looking for work in her field. On tough days, she weeps. But she continues to search the Internet, looking for a medical-assistant position. Her 1-year-old's future depends on it.

"I want to be able to provide for my son," she said.

Stories of Arizona's unemployed

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- Plenty of experience, but competition is stiff | Video