A disturbing and disheartening trend for job-seekers is the spate of listings out there that say if you don’t have a job, don’t bother applying for this one. It’s a kind of discrimination, and it’s legal. But it may not be for long.

While having long periods of no work on your resume have always been tacitly understood as being a prospective employer turn-off, now the job listings are being explicit. “Must be currently employed” or “Must be currently employed or recently employed” is a common phrase on online job listings, reports the New York Times.

The practice has big impact because of how so many people have been out of work for so long. The average length of time for being unemployed these days is 9 months, a new high.

Some states have passed laws barring the practice. New York and Michigan are mulling it over. Congress has introduced legislation regarding it.

To counteract the practice, out-of-work folk are encouraged to return to school or volunteer their time, just to at least to demonstrate some kind of work continuum and that their skills, and work ethic, haven’t atrophied.

The Help-Wanted Sign Comes With a Frustrating Asterisk [NYT]

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