Unemployment Rate in the United States increased to 4.40 percent in September from 4.30 percent in August 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 the United States, approximately 7.75 million people were unemployed and looking for work in August 2025. The data has not been seasonally adjusted. For comparison, a look at the unemployment rate in EU states shows that the EU average is higher than the U.S. average.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Unemployment Rate. from United States. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Track economic data with YCha…

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.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Level (UNEMPLOY) from Jan 1948 to Sep 2025 about 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, and USA.

The number of unemployed persons in The United States increased to 7603 Thousand in September of 2025 from 7384 Thousand in August of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Unemployed Persons - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Units: Percent, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency: Monthly

The unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force. Labor force data are restricted to people 16 years of age and older, who currently reside in 1 of the 50 states or the District of Columbia, who do not reside in institutions (e.g., penal and mental facilities, homes for the aged), and who are not on active duty in the Armed Forces.

This rate is also defined as the U-3 measure of labor underutilization.

The series comes from the 'Current Population Survey (Household Survey)'

Suggested Citation:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemployment Rate [UNRATE], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE, August 13, 2023.

In the United States, around 3.92 million men were unemployed in August 2025, a slight decrease from the previous month. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

The seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate is measured on a monthly basis in the United States. In August 2025, the national unemployment rate was at 4.3 percent. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method of removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends.

Graph and download economic data for Total Unemployed, Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force, Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons, as a Percent of the Civilian Labor Force Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force (U-6) (U6RATE) from Jan 1994 to Sep 2025 about marginally attached, part-time, labor underutilization, workers, 16 years +, labor, household survey, unemployment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Average Weeks Unemployed (UEMPMEAN) from Jan 1948 to Aug 2025 about 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, and USA.

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States decreased to 216 thousand in the week ending November 22 of 2025 from 222 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.

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 - Men (LNS14000001) from Jan 1948 to Sep 2025 about males, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

This dataset contains unemployment rates for the U.S. (1948 - Present) and California (1976 - Present). The unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force. Labor force data are restricted to people 16 years of age and older, who currently reside in 1 of the 50 states or the District of Columbia, who do not reside in institutions (e.g., penal and mental facilities, homes for the aged), and who are not on active duty in the Armed Forces. This rate is also defined as the U-3 measure of labor underutilization.

In 2025, it was estimated that over 163 million Americans were in some form of employment, while 4.16 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.

United States Unemployment Rate: U6 Unemployed, Marginally Employed & Part Time data was reported at 7.000 % in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.100 % for Sep 2018. United States Unemployment Rate: U6 Unemployed, Marginally Employed & Part Time data is updated monthly, averaging 9.600 % from Jan 1994 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 298 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.000 % in Jan 2010 and a record low of 6.300 % in Oct 2000. United States Unemployment Rate: U6 Unemployed, Marginally Employed & Part Time 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.

United States - Unemployment Rate was 4.40% in September of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate reached a record high of 14.80 in April of 2020 and a record low of 2.50 in May of 1953. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on December of 2025.

This dataset contains labor force data not seasonally adjusted at county and statistically equivalent areas level. The indicators related to labor force are the total number of civilian labor force, the number of employed, the number of unemployed and unemployment rate.

In August 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 5.7 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.