In December 2024, Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in the United States, with an unemployment rate of 5.7. The unemployment rate was also high in the District of Columbia, with an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent in December. Unemployment in the U.S. A person is considered unemployed if they have no job and are currently looking for a job and available to work. The unemployment rate in the United States varies across states. Nation-wide unemployment was 3.4 percent as of April 2023. Unemployment can be affected by various factors including economic conditions and global competition. During economic prosperity, unemployment rates generally decrease and during times of recession, rates increase. The seasons can also have an impact on the unemployment rate, especially during winter, when there is lower demand for construction workers or other professionals who typically work outdoors. The retail sector also experiences fluctuating demand for workers, particularly during the holiday-shopping season, when demand for workers increases. For this reason, labor statistics are usually presented as being either seasonally adjusted or unadjusted. The data presented in this statistic have been seasonally adjusted, but the monthly unadjusted unemployment rate can be accessed here.

In July 2024, 3.16 billion U.S. dollars were paid out in unemployment benefits in the United States. This is an increase from June 2024, when 2.62 billion U.S. dollars were paid in unemployment benefits. The large figures seen in 2020 are largely due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Welfare in the U.S. Unemployment benefits first started in 1935 during the Great Depression as a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The Social Security Act of 1935 ensured that Americans would not fall deeper into poverty. The United States was the only developed nation in the world at the time that did not offer any welfare benefits. This program created unemployment benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, and maternal and child welfare. The only major welfare program that the United States currently lacks is a paid maternity leave policy. Currently, the United States only offers 12 unpaid weeks of leave, under certain circumstances. However, the number of people without health insurance in the United States has greatly decreased since 2010. Unemployment benefits Current unemployment benefits in the United States vary from state to state due to unemployment being funded by both the state and the federal government. The average duration of people collecting unemployment benefits in the United States has fluctuated since January 2020, from as little as 4.55 weeks to as many as 50.32 weeks. The unemployment rate varies by ethnicity, gender, and education levels. For example, those aged 16 to 24 have faced the highest unemployment rates since 1990 during the pandemic. In February 2023, the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV metropolitan area had the highest unemployment rate in the United States.

Unemployment Rate in the United States increased to 4.20 percent in July from 4.10 percent in June 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.

In April 2025, the agriculture and related private wage and salary workers industry had the highest unemployment rate in the United States, at eight percent. In comparison, government workers had the lowest unemployment rate, at 1.8 percent. The average for all industries was 3.9 percent. U.S. unemployment There are several factors that impact unemployment, as it fluctuates with the state of the economy. Unfortunately, the forecasted unemployment rate in the United States is expected to increase as we head into the latter half of the decade. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher saw the lowest unemployment rate from 1992 to 2022 in the United States, which is attributed to the fact that higher levels of education are seen as more desirable in the workforce. Nevada unemployment Nevada is one of the states with the highest unemployment rates in the country and Vermont typically has one of the lowest unemployment rates. These are seasonally adjusted rates, which means that seasonal factors such as holiday periods and weather events that influence employment periods are removed. Nevada's economy consists of industries that are currently suffering high unemployment rates such as tourism. As of May 2023, about 5.4 percent of Nevada's population was unemployed, possibly due to the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2023, Nevada had the highest annual unemployment rate in the United States at 5.1 percent. North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate that year, at 1.9 percent. The monthly unemployment rate by state can be found here.

description: The U.S. Department of Labor has been working collaboratively with our state partners to identify several robust strategies that focus on the prevention of overpayments and will yield the highest impact in reducing UI improper payment rates. Improper Unemployment Insurance benefit payments are most likely to occur when: Recipients continue to claim benefits after returning to work; Employers or their third party administrators do not submit timely or accurate separation information; and Claimants fail to register with the state's Employment Service (ES) as dictated by state law. Earlier this year, the Department actively intervened to encourage the ten states with the highest Employment Service registration error rates to focus on the issue. Senior DOL officials personally contacted these states to determine specific steps the states would take to address their error rates, and the Department provided targeted technical assistance. As a result, dramatic progress is being made in this area, with a 23% reduction in improper payments to people who did not register with employment services agencies, including a more than 35% drop in eight states.; abstract: The U.S. Department of Labor has been working collaboratively with our state partners to identify several robust strategies that focus on the prevention of overpayments and will yield the highest impact in reducing UI improper payment rates. Improper Unemployment Insurance benefit payments are most likely to occur when: Recipients continue to claim benefits after returning to work; Employers or their third party administrators do not submit timely or accurate separation information; and Claimants fail to register with the state's Employment Service (ES) as dictated by state law. Earlier this year, the Department actively intervened to encourage the ten states with the highest Employment Service registration error rates to focus on the issue. Senior DOL officials personally contacted these states to determine specific steps the states would take to address their error rates, and the Department provided targeted technical assistance. As a result, dramatic progress is being made in this area, with a 23% reduction in improper payments to people who did not register with employment services agencies, including a more than 35% drop in eight states.

Regional unemployment rates used by the Employment Insurance program, by effective date, current month.

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

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Unemployment and Workers' Compensation, Veterans Benefits by Highest Education: Less Than College Graduate: Associate's Degree (CXUOTHBNFTSLB1406M) from 2012 to 2012 about no college, veterans, associate degree, benefits, compensation, workers, education, tax, income, unemployment, and USA.

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States decreased to 229 thousand in the week ending August 23 of 2025 from 234 thousand in the previous week. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Initial Jobless Claims - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

During the week ending May 20, 2023, unemployment insurance claims in U.S. states totaled 202,044 claims, an increase from the previous week when there were 200,738 claims. During the week, California was the most affected state, with 45,667 initial unemployment insurance claims.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Unemployment and Workers' Compensation, Veterans' Benefits, and Regular Contributions by Highest Education: College Graduate: Master's, Professional, Doctoral Degree (CXUOTHREGINLB1409M) from 2013 to 2023 about doctoral degree, veterans, contributions, professional, compensation, benefits, tertiary schooling, workers, tax, education, income, unemployment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Unemployment and Workers' Compensation, Veterans' Benefits, and Regular Contributions by Deciles of Income Before Taxes: Highest 10 Percent (91st to 100th Percentile) (CXUOTHREGINLB1511M) from 2014 to 2023 about veterans, contributions, compensation, percentile, benefits, workers, tax, income, unemployment, and USA.

Employment Rate in the United States decreased to 59.60 percent in July from 59.70 percent in June of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Employment Rate- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Wages in the United States increased 5.35 percent in July of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Wages and Salaries Growth - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The average for 2025 based on 101 countries was 6.64 percent. The highest value was in Sudan: 61.99 percent and the lowest value was in Thailand: 1 percent. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2030. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset provides the unemployment rate (UR) by usual status (ps+ss) for individuals aged 15 years and above, categorized by their highest level of education completed, for each state and union territory. Sourced from the PLFS, it enables the examination of unemployment trends relative to education levels across regions. For 2023-24, Chandigarh's entire area has been considered urban for this survey. Before 2019-20, Ladakh was part of Jammu and Kashmir, and since 2020-21, Daman and Diu have been merged with Dadra and Nagar Haveli to form the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

In February 2025, the unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over in the United States came to 4.5 percent. Service occupations had an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent in that month. The underemployment rate of the country can be accessed here and the monthly unemployment rate here. Unemployment by occupation in the U.S. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics publish data on the unemployment situation within certain occupations in the United States on a monthly basis. According to latest data released from May 2023, transportation and material moving occupations experienced the highest level of unemployment that month, with a rate of around 5.6 percent. Second ranked was farming, fishing, and forestry occupations with a rate of 4.9 percent. Total (not seasonally adjusted) unemployment was reported at 3.6 percent in March 2023. Other data on the U.S. unemployment rate by industry and class of worker shows comparable results. It should be noted that the data were not seasonally adjusted to account for normal seasonal fluctuations in unemployment. The monthly unemployment by occupation data can be compared to the seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate. In March 2023, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, which was an increase from the previous month. The annual unemployment rate in 2022 was 3.6 percent, down from a high of 9.6 in 2010. Unemployment in the United States trended downward after the coronavirus pandemic, and is now experiencing consistently low rates - a sign of economic stability. Individuals who opt to leave the workforce and stop looking for employment are not included among the unemployed. The civilian labor force participation rate in the U.S. rose to 62.2 percent in 2022, down from 67.1 percent in 2000, before the financial crisis.

This dataset provides values for UNEMPLOYMENT RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This statistic shows the unemployment rate of veterans in the United States in 2023, by state. In that year, New Mexico had the highest unemployment rate of veterans, at 7.1 percent. Connecticut had the lowest unemployment rate of veterans at 0.4 percent.