Unemployment for relatively long periods, for example a year or more. This causes more severe problems than short spells of unemployment, from the point of view of both the financial position and the morale of the unemployed and their families. Similar problems arise where shorter periods of continuous unemployment are interrupted only by brief spells in work. It appears that the probability of getting a job decreases the longer a worker has been unemployed. It is not clear whether this is because unemployment makes workers less employable, or simply that those harder to employ tend to stay unemployed longer. Long-term unemployment suggests a need for help with retraining or relocation.

• baseline
• base period
• base rate
• base-weighted index
• base year
• basic rate
• basis point
• batch production
• Bayesian statistics
• BBB
• BCCI
• BEA
• bear
• bearer bond
• bearer security
• bear market
• before-tax income
• beggar-my-neighbour policy
• behavioural theories of the firm
• bell curve
• below-the-line
• benefit
• benefit-cost analysis
• benefit principle
• benefits