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.

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.

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.

The unemployment rate of the foreign born population in the United States was *** percent in 2023. This was the same as the national unemployment rate that year.

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.

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

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.

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.

Unemployment Rate: Foreign Born data was reported at 3.600 % in Apr 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.400 % for Mar 2025. Unemployment Rate: Foreign Born data is updated monthly, averaging 4.800 % from Jan 2007 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 220 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.500 % in Apr 2020 and a record low of 2.600 % in Oct 2019. Unemployment Rate: Foreign Born data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G: Current Population Survey: Unemployment Rate.

Unemployment rate, participation rate, and employment rate by educational attainment, gender and age group, annual.

Unemployment Rate in China increased to 5.20 percent in July from 5 percent in June of 2025. This dataset provides - China Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Unemployment Rate in Japan remained unchanged at 2.50 percent in June. 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.

Unemployment Rate in Canada remained unchanged at 6.90 percent in July. This dataset provides - Canada Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Brazil Unemployment Rate: Minas Gerais: Total data was reported at 11.500 % in Mar 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 9.500 % for Dec 2019. Brazil Unemployment Rate: Minas Gerais: Total data is updated quarterly, averaging 9.500 % from Mar 2012 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 33 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.700 % in Mar 2017 and a record low of 5.700 % in Dec 2013. Brazil Unemployment Rate: Minas Gerais: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.GBA048: Continuous National Household Sample Survey: Unemployment Rate: by Sex.

Brazil Unemployment Rate: Maranhao: Total data was reported at 16.100 % in Mar 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 12.100 % for Dec 2019. Brazil Unemployment Rate: Maranhao: Total data is updated quarterly, averaging 10.800 % from Mar 2012 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 33 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.300 % in Mar 2019 and a record low of 5.500 % in Dec 2013. Brazil Unemployment Rate: Maranhao: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.GBA048: Continuous National Household Sample Survey: Unemployment Rate: by Sex.

Unemployment Rate in South Africa increased to 33.20 percent in the second quarter of 2025 from 32.90 percent in the first quarter of 2025. This dataset provides - South Africa Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This dataset from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides monthly estimates regarding total employment and unemployment, which together comprise the labor force. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed. Our data extract lists all data published for North Carolina’s counties from January 2019 to the present. This dataset is a comprehensive nationwide representation using estimates derived from the national Current Population Survey (CPS) and American Community Survey 5-year estimates. No disaggregations by demographic or worker characteristics are included in the unemployment rate estimate. Time series reports for each variable (employment, unemployment, and labor force) are available for each geography (county) using the BLS multi-screen data tool. Preliminary estimates are released within 30 days of each month and finalized within another 30 days, resulting in a 2-month data lag. The data is available for a variety of geographic areas, including states, MSAs, counties, cities and towns, and other census regions.

The unemployment rate for people ages 16 to 24 in the United States in 202024 23 was 10 percent. However, this rate was much lower for people aged 45 and over, at 2.9 percent. U.S. unemployment The unemployment rate in the United States varies based on several factors, such as race, gender, and level of education. Black and African-American individuals had the highest unemployment rate in 2021 out of any ethnicity, and people who had less than a high school diploma had the highest unemployment rate by education level. Alaska is consistently the state with the highest unemployment rate, although the El Centro, California metropolitan area was the area with the highest unemployment rate in the country in 2019. Additionally, in August 2022, farming, fishing, and forestry occupations had the highest unemployment rate in the United States Unemployment rate The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is the agency that researches and calculates the unemployment rate in the United States. Unemployment rises during recessions, which causes the cost of social welfare programs to increase. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says unemployed people are those who are jobless, have looked for employment within the last four weeks, and are free to work.

Unemployment Rate in Australia decreased to 4.20 percent in July from 4.30 percent in June of 2025. This dataset provides - Australia Unemployment Rate at 5.8% in December - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Unemployment Rate in India decreased to 5.20 percent in July from 5.60 percent in June of 2025. This dataset provides - India Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.