another notable result is that longterm unemployment rose more sharply for mediumskilled workers percentage points than for both less and more educated workers annex figure a in oecd c shows that men accounted for the majority of the increase in the number of longterm unemployed persons in most oecd countries as did primeage and mediumskilled persons however some notable national exceptions emerge for example lowskilled workers accounted for more than half of the increase in longterm unemployment in iceland and spain and in italy the chart below shows that the postcrisis increase is unprecedented in recent decades