In 2021, the unemployment rate among the United States workforce was approximately 5.35 percent - this was roughly 3.8 percent lower than the unemployment rate in 2020, during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, but was still around one percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate is measured on a monthly basis in the United States. In February 2025, the national unemployment rate was at 4.1 percent. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method of removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends. U.S. monthly unemployment rate According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - the principle fact-finding agency for the U.S. Federal Government in labor economics and statistics - unemployment decreased dramatically between 2010 and 2019. This trend of decreasing unemployment followed after a high in 2010 resulting from the 2008 financial crisis. However, after a smaller financial crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment reached 8.1 percent in 2020. As the economy recovered, the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 in 2021, and fell even further in 2022. Additional statistics from the BLS paint an interesting picture of unemployment in the United States. In November 2023, the states with the highest (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate were the Nevada and the District of Columbia. Unemployment was the lowest in Maryland, at 1.8 percent. Workers in the agricultural and related industries suffered the highest unemployment rate of any industry at seven percent in December 2023.

Unemployment Rate in the United States remained unchanged at 4.20 percent in May. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Historical chart and dataset showing U.S. unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

In 1990, the unemployment rate of the United States stood at 5.6 percent. Since then there have been many significant fluctuations to this number - the 2008 financial crisis left millions of people without work, as did the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2022 and throughout 2023, the unemployment rate came to 3.6 percent, the lowest rate seen for decades. However, 2024 saw an increase up to four percent. For monthly updates on unemployment in the United States visit either the monthly national unemployment rate here, or the monthly state unemployment rate here. Both are seasonally adjusted. UnemploymentUnemployment is defined as a situation when an employed person is laid off, fired or quits his work and is still actively looking for a job. Unemployment can be found even in the healthiest economies, and many economists consider an unemployment rate at or below five percent to mean there is 'full employment' within an economy. If former employed persons go back to school or leave the job to take care of children they are no longer part of the active labor force and therefore not counted among the unemployed. Unemployment can also be the effect of events that are not part of the normal dynamics of an economy. Layoffs can be the result of technological progress, for example when robots replace workers in automobile production. Sometimes unemployment is caused by job outsourcing, due to the fact that employers often search for cheap labor around the globe and not only domestically. In 2022, the tech sector in the U.S. experienced significant lay-offs amid growing economic uncertainty. In the fourth quarter of 2022, more than 70,000 workers were laid off, despite low unemployment nationwide. The unemployment rate in the United States varies from state to state. In 2021, California had the highest number of unemployed persons with 1.38 million out of work.

World unemployment rate for 2024 was 4.89%, a 0.02% decline from 2023.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>World unemployment rate for 2023 was <strong>4.92%</strong>, a <strong>0.34% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>World unemployment rate for 2022 was <strong>5.26%</strong>, a <strong>0.8% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>World unemployment rate for 2021 was <strong>6.06%</strong>, a <strong>0.54% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
</ul>Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Youth unemployment stood at 9.7 percent in February 2025. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method for removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends. The unemployment rate by state can be found here, and the annual national unemployment rate can be found here. Youth unemployment in the United States The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics track unemployment of persons between the ages of 16 and 24 years each month. In analyzing the data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics performed a seasonal adjustment—removing seasonal influences from the time series, such that one month’s rate of unemployment could be analyzed in comparison with another month’s rate of unemployment. During the period in question, youth unemployment ranged from a high of 9.9 percent in April 2021, to a low of 6.5 percent in April 2023. The national youth unemployment rate can be compared to the monthly national unemployment rate in the United States, although youth unemployment tends to be much higher due to higher rates of participation in education. In May 2023, U.S. unemployment was at 3.7 percent, compared with 7.4 percent amongst those 16 to 24 years old. Additionally, as of May 2023, Nevada had the highest state unemployment rate of all U.S. states, at 5.4 percent.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in Norway, many people have lost their jobs. This was especially the case for employees in the tourism and transportation sector. Before the coronavirus outbreak, the unemployment rate in the sector amounted to 3.4 percent. After the outbreak of COVID-19, however, the rate increased to 13.6 percent. Compared to other significantly affected industries, such as industrial work, the unemployment rate in the tourism and transportation sector was more than twice as high.

Traveling and tourism

As of July 2020, many companies in the traveling and tourism industry had completed layoffs. In detail, 85 percent of travel agencies and 95 percent of hotels had laid off employees due to the coronavirus crisis. The extent of these layoffs unfolded slightly differently in the two sectors: While 65 percent of travel agencies dismissed between 76 and 100 percent of their employees, 81 percent of hotels had to do the same.

Unemployment

Despite the significant rise in unemployment levels in Norway since March 2020, the number of unemployed individuals gradually decreased as of April 2020 before increasing again. While over 300,000 people were unemployed by the end of March 2020, the number had nearly halved by June 2020. As of February 2021, roughly 124 people registered as unemployed.

Brazil unemployment rate for 2024 was 7.63%, a 0.31% decline from 2023.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Brazil unemployment rate for 2023 was <strong>7.95%</strong>, a <strong>1.28% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Brazil unemployment rate for 2022 was <strong>9.23%</strong>, a <strong>3.93% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Brazil unemployment rate for 2021 was <strong>13.16%</strong>, a <strong>0.54% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
</ul>Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

France unemployment rate for 2024 was 7.37%, a 0.04% increase from 2023.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>France unemployment rate for 2023 was <strong>7.34%</strong>, a <strong>0.03% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>France unemployment rate for 2022 was <strong>7.31%</strong>, a <strong>0.57% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>France unemployment rate for 2021 was <strong>7.87%</strong>, a <strong>0.14% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
</ul>Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Unemployment Rate in Ukraine increased to 10.50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 from 9.10 percent in the third quarter of 2021. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Ukraine Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Youth Unemployment Rate in China decreased to 14.90 percent in May from 15.80 percent in April of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for China Youth Unemployment Rate.

Historical chart and dataset showing Poland unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

unemployment rate for 2023 was 3.73%, a 0.1% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li> unemployment rate for 2022 was <strong>3.83%</strong>, a <strong>0.23% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li> unemployment rate for 2021 was <strong>3.60%</strong>, a <strong>0.1% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li> unemployment rate for 2020 was <strong>3.51%</strong>, a <strong>0.01% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Russia unemployment rate for 2024 was 2.53%, a 0.55% decline from 2023.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Russia unemployment rate for 2023 was <strong>3.08%</strong>, a <strong>0.79% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Russia unemployment rate for 2022 was <strong>3.87%</strong>, a <strong>0.88% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Russia unemployment rate for 2021 was <strong>4.75%</strong>, a <strong>0.87% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
</ul>Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Unemployment Rate in Vietnam decreased to 2.20 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 2.22 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Vietnam Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This statistic shows the rate of registered unemployment in urban areas of China in 2022, by region. In 2022, the unemployment rate in urban areas of Heilongjiang province was around 3.2 percent.

Since 2022, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China does not publish figures on registered unemployment any more and switched to a survey methodology to collect data on unemployment. However, current regional data for all provinces have not been consistently published yet.

Historical chart and dataset showing U.S. youth unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

Unemployment Rate in Saudi Arabia decreased to 3.50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 3.70 percent in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Saudi Arabia Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The employment and unemployment indicator shows several data points. The first figure is the number of people in the labor force, which includes the number of people who are either working or looking for work. The second two figures, the number of people who are employed and the number of people who are unemployed, are the two subcategories of the labor force. The unemployment rate is a calculation of the number of people who are in the labor force and unemployed as a percentage of the total number of people in the labor force.

The unemployment rate does not include people who are not employed and not in the labor force. This includes adults who are neither working nor looking for work. For example, full-time students may choose not to seek any employment during their college career, and are thus not considered in the unemployment rate. Stay-at-home parents and other caregivers are also considered outside of the labor force, and therefore outside the scope of the unemployment rate.

The unemployment rate is a key economic indicator, and is illustrative of economic conditions in the county at the individual scale.

There are additional considerations to the unemployment rate. Because it does not count those who are outside the labor force, it can exclude individuals who were looking for a job previously, but have since given up. The impact of this on the overall unemployment rate is difficult to quantify, but it is important to note because it shows that no statistic is perfect.

The unemployment rates for Champaign County, the City of Champaign, and the City of Urbana are extremely similar between 2000 and 2023.

All three areas saw a dramatic increase in the unemployment rate between 2006 and 2009. The unemployment rates for all three areas decreased overall between 2010 and 2019. However, the unemployment rate in all three areas rose sharply in 2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate in all three areas dropped again in 2021 as pandemic restrictions were removed, and were almost back to 2019 rates in 2022. However, the unemployment rate in all three areas rose slightly from 2022 to 2023.

This data is sourced from the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), and from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sources: Illinois Department of Employment Security, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.