47% of Unemployed Americans Have Just Stopped Looking for Work

Nearly half of unemployed Americans have “completely given up” looking for a job, a new survey has found.

Pollsters for job staffing company Express Employment Professionals asked 1,500 unemployed American adults how they were faring in their job hunts. A startling number were, in a word, fed up.

83% expressed a willingness to accept a job that would pay less than their previous position, and 45% blamed the economy for producing what feels to them like a jobless recovery.

“After searching for four years and being unsuccessful, I am tired of trying,” one respondent said, according to the surveyors.

Despite the troubling numbers, 91% agreed with the statement “I’m hopeful that I will find a job I really want in the next six months,” indicating that they still held out hope that they could land a job, even if the search felt beyond their control.