Do the long-term unemployed face a stigma that keeps them from finding jobs? A new experiment suggests the answer is “yes” — at least for low-skilled workers.

The scourge of long-term unemployment has been one of the defining characteristics of the recession and slow recovery. More than three million Americans have been out of work for more than a year, a figure that leaves out millions of others who have given up looking for work because they can’t find jobs. Economists worry many of them will never work again.

Particularly troubling are suggestions that the long-term jobless bear a stigma that leads companies to reject otherwise qualified candidates. The National Employment Law Project has highlighted job postings that explicitly require applicants to be currently employed; many job-seekers have stories of interviews that ended shortly after the, “So, where are you working now?” questions.