Unemployment Rate in the United States decreased to 4.10 percent in June from 4.20 percent in May of 2025. 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.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over (LNS14000024) from Jan 1948 to Jun 2025 about 20 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, Men (LNS14000025) from Jan 1948 to Jun 2025 about 20 years +, males, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 30-34 Yrs. (LNU04024933) from Jan 1981 to Jun 2025 about 30 to 34 years, unemployment, rate, and USA.

Historical chart and data for the united states national unemployment rate back to 1948. Compares the level and annual rate of change.

From the late 19th century until the 1980s, the United States' unemployment rate was generally somewhere between three and ten percent of the total workforce. The periods when it peaked were in times of recession or depression - the Panic of 1893, which lasted until 1897, saw unemployment peak at over 18 percent, whereas the post-WWI recession saw unemployment spike to almost 12 percent in 1921.

However, the longest and most-severe period of mass unemployment in U.S. history came during the Great Depression - unemployment rose from just 3.2 percent in 1929 to one quarter of the total workforce in 1933, and it was not until the Second World War until it fell below five percent once more. Since this time, unemployment has never exceeded 10 percent, although it did come close during the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s.

More recent unemployment statistics for the U.S. can be found here.

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

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 50-54 Yrs. (LNU04024937) from Jan 1981 to Jun 2025 about 50 to 54 years, unemployment, rate, and USA.

Unemployment Rate in China decreased to 5 percent in May from 5.10 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides - China Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate in California (CAURN) from Jan 1976 to May 2025 about CA, unemployment, rate, and USA.

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 Japan remained unchanged at 2.50 percent in May. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Japan Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 16-24 Yrs. (LNS14024887) from Jan 1948 to Jun 2025 about 16 to 24 years, unemployment, rate, and USA.

Unemployment Rate in Mexico increased to 2.70 percent in May from 2.50 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Mexico Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - White (LNS14000003) from Jan 1954 to Jun 2025 about white, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

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

Unemployment Rate in Brazil decreased to 6.20 percent in May from 6.60 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Brazil Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate in New York (NYUR) from Jan 1976 to May 2025 about NY, unemployment, rate, and USA.