The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is a Federal-State cooperative effort in which monthly estimates of total employment and unemployment are prepared for approximately 7,600 areas, including counties, cities and metropolitan statistical areas. These estimates are key indicators of local economic conditions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for the concepts, definitions, technical procedures, validation, and publication of the estimates that State workforce agencies prepare under agreement with BLS. Estimates for counties are produced through a building-block approach known as the "Handbook method." This procedure also uses data from several sources, including the CPS, the CES program, state UI systems, and the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), to create estimates that are adjusted to the statewide measures of employment and unemployment. Estimates for cities are prepared using disaggregation techniques based on inputs from the ACS, annual population estimates, and current UI data.

The seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate is measured on a monthly basis in the United States. In June 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.

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides a comprehensive body of data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, persons not in the labor force, hours of work, earnings, and other demographic and labor force characteristics.

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.

This layer contains the latest 14 months of unemployment statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The data is offered at the nationwide, state, and county geography levels. Puerto Rico is included. These are not seasonally adjusted values. The layer is updated monthly with the newest unemployment statistics available from BLS. There are attributes in the layer that specify which month is associated to each statistic. Most current month: July 2025 (preliminary values at the state and county level) The attributes included for each month are:Unemployment rate (%)Count of unemployed populationCount of employed population in the labor forceCount of people in the labor forceData obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data downloaded: August 27, 2025Local Area Unemployment Statistics table download: https://www.bls.gov/lau/#tablesLocal Area Unemployment FTP downloads:State and County NationData Notes:This layer is updated automatically when the BLS releases their most current monthly statistics. The layer always contains the most recent estimates. It is updated within days of the BLS"s county release schedule. BLS releases their county statistics roughly 2 months after-the-fact. The data is joined to 2023 TIGER boundaries from the U.S. Census Bureau.Monthly values are subject to revision over time.For national values, employed plus unemployed may not sum to total labor force due to rounding.As of the January 2022 estimates released on March 18th, 2022, BLS is reporting new data for the two new census areas in Alaska - Copper River and Chugach - and historical data for the previous census area - Valdez Cordova. As of the March 17th, 2025 release, BLS now reports data for 9 planning regions in Connecticut rather than the 8 previous counties. To better understand the different labor force statistics included in this map, see the diagram below from BLS:

This dataset contains the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), annual averages from 1990 to 2024. The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is a Federal-State cooperative effort in which monthly estimates of total employment and unemployment are prepared for approximately 7,600 areas, including counties, cities and metropolitan statistical areas. These estimates are key indicators of local economic conditions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for the concepts, definitions, technical procedures, validation, and publication of the estimates that State workforce agencies prepare under agreement with BLS. Estimates for counties are produced through a building-block approach known as the "Handbook method." This procedure also uses data from several sources, including the CPS, the CES program, state UI systems, and the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), to create estimates that are adjusted to the statewide measures of employment and unemployment. Estimates for cities are prepared using disaggregation techniques based on inputs from the ACS, annual population estimates, and current UI data.

1990 to present (approximate 2 month lag) Virginia Labor Force and Unemployment estimates by Month by County.

Special data considerations: Period values of "M01-M12" represent Months of Year; "M13" is the Annual Average.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Local Area Unemployment Statistics, table la.data.54.Virginia Data accessed from the Bureau of Labor Statistics public database LABSTAT (https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/)

Supporting documentation can be found on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website under Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Handbook of Methods (https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/lau/home.htm)

Survey Description: Labor force and unemployment estimates for States and local areas are developed by State workforce agencies to measure local labor market conditions under a Federal-State cooperative program. The Department of Labor develops the concepts, definitions, and technical procedures which are used by State agencies for preparation of labor force and unemployment estimates.

These estimates are derived from a variety of sources, including the Current Population Survey, the Current Employment Statistics survey, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, various programs at the Census Bureau, and unemployment insurance claims data from the State workforce agencies.

To establish uniform labor force concepts and definitions in all States and areas consistent with those used for the U.S. as a whole, monthly national estimates of employment and unemployment from the Current Population Survey are used as controls (benchmarks) for the State labor force statistics.

Summary Data Available: Monthly labor force and unemployment series are available for approximately 7,500 geographic areas, including cities over 25,000 population, counties, metropolitan areas, States, and other areas.

For each area, the following measures are presented by place of residence:

• Total civilian labor force,
• Total number of people employed,
• Total number of people unemployed, and
• Unemployment rate

Data Characteristics: Rates are expressed as percents with one decimal place. Levels are measured as individual persons (not thousands) and are stored with no decimal places.

Each month the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program surveys about 141,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 486,000 individual worksites, in order to provide detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls. More information and details about the data provided can be found at http://www.bls.gov/ces

In 2023, it was estimated that over 161 million Americans were in some form of employment, while 3.64 percent of the total workforce was unemployed. This was the lowest unemployment rate since the 1950s, although these figures are expected to rise in 2023 and beyond. 1980s-2010s Since the 1980s, the total United States labor force has generally risen as the population has grown, however, the annual average unemployment rate has fluctuated significantly, usually increasing in times of crisis, before falling more slowly during periods of recovery and economic stability. For example, unemployment peaked at 9.7 percent during the early 1980s recession, which was largely caused by the ripple effects of the Iranian Revolution on global oil prices and inflation. Other notable spikes came during the early 1990s; again, largely due to inflation caused by another oil shock, and during the early 2000s recession. The Great Recession then saw the U.S. unemployment rate soar to 9.6 percent, following the collapse of the U.S. housing market and its impact on the banking sector, and it was not until 2016 that unemployment returned to pre-recession levels. 2020s 2019 had marked a decade-long low in unemployment, before the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw the sharpest year-on-year increase in unemployment since the Great Depression, and the total number of workers fell by almost 10 million people. Despite the continuation of the pandemic in the years that followed, alongside the associated supply-chain issues and onset of the inflation crisis, unemployment reached just 3.67 percent in 2022 - current projections are for this figure to rise in 2023 and the years that follow, although these forecasts are subject to change if recent years are anything to go by.

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program is a Federal-State cooperative effort in which monthly surveys are conducted to provide estimates of employment, hours, and earnings based on payroll records of business establishments. The CES survey is based on approximately 119,000 businesses and government agencies representing approximately 629,000 individual worksites throughout the United States. CES data reflect the number of nonfarm, payroll jobs. It includes the total number of persons on establishment payrolls, employed full- or part-time, who received pay (whether they worked or not) for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th day of the month. Temporary and intermittent employees are included, as are any employees who are on paid sick leave or on paid holiday. Persons on the payroll of more than one establishment are counted in each establishment. CES data excludes proprietors, self-employed, unpaid family or volunteer workers, farm workers, and household workers. Government employment covers only civilian employees; it excludes uniformed members of the armed services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for the concepts, definitions, technical procedures, validation, and publication of the estimates that State workforce agencies prepare under agreement with BLS.

The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program produces monthly employment, unemployment, and labor force data for Census regions and divisions, States, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities, by place of residence. The LAUS program is a federal-state cooperative endeavor in which states develop state and sub-state data using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A major source of labor force data estimates, the Current Population Survey (CPS) includes a sample of over 1,600 Connecticut households each month regarding the labor force status of their occupants Further information from the CT Department of Labor is available here: https://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/LAUS/default.asp

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs. (LNS14000012) from Jan 1948 to Aug 2025 about 16 to 19 years, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Program is a Federal-State cooperative program between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the California EDD’s Labor Market Information Division (LMID). The QCEW program produces a comprehensive tabulation of employment and wage information for workers covered by California Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and Federal workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program. The QCEW program serves as a near census of monthly employment and quarterly wage information by 6-digit industry codes from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at the national, state, and county levels. At the national level, the QCEW program publishes employment and wage data for nearly every NAICS industry. At the state and local area level, the QCEW program publishes employment and wage data down to the 6-digit NAICS industry level, if disclosure restrictions are met. In accordance with the BLS policy, data provided to the Bureau in confidence are used only for specified statistical purposes and are not published. The BLS withholds publication of Unemployment Insurance law-covered employment and wage data for any industry level when necessary to protect the identity of cooperating employers. Data from the QCEW program serve as an important input to many BLS programs. The Current Employment Statistics and the Occupational Employment Statistics programs use the QCEW data as the benchmark source for employment. The UI administrative records collected under the QCEW program serve as a sampling frame for the BLS establishment surveys. In addition, the data serve as an input to other federal and state programs. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Commerce uses the QCEW data as the base for developing the wage and salary component of personal income. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and California's EDD use the QCEW data to administer the Unemployment Insurance program. The QCEW data accurately reflect the extent of coverage of California’s UI laws and are used to measure UI revenues; national, state and local area employment; and total and UI taxable wage trends. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes new QCEW data in its County Employment and Wages news release on a quarterly basis. The BLS also publishes a subset of its quarterly data through the Create Customized Tables system, and full quarterly industry detail data at all geographic levels.

This dataset provides employment, unemployment, labor force and unemployment rate monthly estimates for State of Iowa, Iowa counties, metropolitan statistical areas, and large cities within Iowa. Data has NOT been adjusted to eliminate the effect of intrayear variations which tend to occur during the same period on an annual basis. Data available beginning January 2020.

This is the monthly data for U.S. employment and unemployment by state including some numbers for Puerto Rico. This dataset was accessed on April 7th 2008. The data for February 2008 are preliminary. The data presented are seasonally adjusted although the unadjusted numbers are also available. Unavailable data are represented as -1. The dataset is taken from Tables 3 and 5 from the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. It includes the civilian labor force, the unemployed in numbers and percentages, and employment by industry. Data from table 3 "refer to place of residence. Data for Puerto Rico are derived from a monthly household survey similar to the Current Population Survey. Area definitions are based on Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 08-01, dated November 20, 2007, and are available at http://www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm. Estimates for the latest month are subject to revision the following month". Data from table 5 "are counts of jobs by place of work. Estimates are currently projected from 2007 benchmark levels. Estimates subsequent to the current benchmarks are provisional and will be revised when new information becomes available. Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002. For more details, see http://www.bls.gov/sae/saenaics07.htm.

Historical Employment Statistics 1990 - current. The Current Employment Statistics (CES) more information program provides the most current estimates of nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings data by industry (place of work) for the nation as a whole, all states, and most major metropolitan areas. The CES survey is a federal-state cooperative endeavor in which states develop state and sub-state data using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Estimates produced by the CES program include both full- and part-time jobs. Excluded are self-employment, as well as agricultural and domestic positions. In Connecticut, more than 4,000 employers are surveyed each month to determine the number of the jobs in the State. For more information please visit us at http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/ces/default.asp.

This dataset contains annual average CES data for California statewide and areas from 1990 to 2023. The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program is a Federal-State cooperative effort in which monthly surveys are conducted to provide estimates of employment, hours, and earnings based on payroll records of business establishments. The CES survey is based on approximately 119,000 businesses and government agencies representing approximately 629,000 individual worksites throughout the United States. CES data reflect the number of nonfarm, payroll jobs. It includes the total number of persons on establishment payrolls, employed full- or part-time, who received pay (whether they worked or not) for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th day of the month. Temporary and intermittent employees are included, as are any employees who are on paid sick leave or on paid holiday. Persons on the payroll of more than one establishment are counted in each establishment. CES data excludes proprietors, self-employed, unpaid family or volunteer workers, farm workers, and household workers. Government employment covers only civilian employees; it excludes uniformed members of the armed services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for the concepts, definitions, technical procedures, validation, and publication of the estimates that State workforce agencies prepare under agreement with BLS.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - Black or African American (LNS14000006) from Jan 1972 to Aug 2025 about African-American, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

United States Unemployment Rate: Office & Administrative Support data was reported at 3.200 % in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.300 % for May 2018. United States Unemployment Rate: Office & Administrative Support data is updated monthly, averaging 5.000 % from Jan 2000 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 222 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.400 % in Sep 2009 and a record low of 3.200 % in Jun 2018. United States Unemployment Rate: Office & Administrative Support data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.G018: Current Population Survey: Unemployment Rate.