Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate for United States from Apr 1929 to Jun 1942 about unemployment, rate, and USA.

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.

Unemployment Rate - Historical chart and current data through 1942.

Between the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the end of the Great Depression in the late 1930s, the Soviet Union saw the largest growth in its gross domestic product, growing by more than 70 percent between 1929 and 1937/8. The Great Depression began in 1929 in the United States, following the stock market crash in late October. The inter-connectedness of the global economy, particularly between North America and Europe, then came to the fore as the collapse of the U.S. economy exposed the instabilities of other industrialized countries. In contrast, the economic isolation of the Soviet Union and its detachment from the capitalist system meant that it was relatively shielded from these events. 1929-1932 The Soviet Union was one of just three countries listed that experienced GDP growth during the first three years of the Great Depression, with Bulgaria and Denmark being the other two. Bulgaria experienced the largest GDP growth over these three years, increasing by 27 percent, although it was also the only country to experience a decline in growth over the second period. The majority of other European countries saw their GDP growth fall in the depression's early years. However, none experienced the same level of decline as the United States, which dropped by 28 percent. 1932-1938 In the remaining years before the Second World War, all of the listed countries saw their GDP grow significantly, particularly Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Coincidentally, these were the three most powerful nations during the Second World War. This recovery was primarily driven by industrialization, and, again, the U.S., USSR, and Germany all experienced the highest level of industrial growth between 1932 and 1938.

Over the course of their first terms in office, no U.S. president in the past 100 years saw as much of a decline in stock prices as Herbert Hoover, and none saw as much of an increase as Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) - these were the two presidents in office during the Great Depression. While Hoover is not generally considered to have caused the Wall Street Crash in 1929, less than a year into his term in office, he is viewed as having contributed to its fall, and exacerbating the economic collapse that followed. In contrast, Roosevelt is viewed as overseeing the economic recovery and restoring faith in the stock market played an important role in this.

By the end of Hoover's time in office, stock prices were 82 percent lower than when he entered the White House, whereas prices had risen by 237 percent by the end of Roosevelt's first term. While this is the largest price gain of any president within just one term, it is important to note that stock prices were valued at 317 on the Dow Jones index when Hoover took office, but just 51 when FDR took office four years later - stock prices had peaked in August 1929 at 380 on the Dow Jones index, but the highest they ever reached under FDR was 187, and it was not until late 1954 that they reached pre-Crash levels once more.

Throughout the Great Depression, the Soviet Union's isolation and removal from the capitalist system meant that its industrial production grew by more than 300 percent between 1929 and 1938, compared to the relatively low figures across the rest of Europe and the U.S. The Soviet Union was the only country of those listed whose industrial output did not fall in the years immediately following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The U.S. and Germany, conversely, saw industrial production fall by 45 and 41 percent, respectively, although they had the fourth and second highest growth rates of the period between 1932 and 1938.

Highest magnitude correlations at top. Standard deviations and confidence intervals on are estimated by 10,000 bootstraps (random sampling with replacement). Not shown are the literary scores which did not yield statistically significant correlations with economic misery: WNA misery (Fiction books), WNA joy, WNA fear, WNA surprise, WNA anger, WNA sadness, LIWC anxiety, LIWC anger, LIWC affect, and LIWC positive emotions.

The estimated number of banks and thrifts in the United States fell from around 31,000 in 1920 to 26,000 in 1929, when the onset of the Great Depression would then see it fall further, below 15,000 in 1933. This marks a cumulative decline of over 16,000 banks and thrifts, which is equal to a drop of more than 52 percent in 13 years. Tumultuous Twenties Despite the economic prosperity associated with the Roarin' 1920s in the U.S., it was a tumultuous decade in financial terms, with more separate recessions than any other decade. However, the 1920s was also privy to frivolous lending policies among many banks, which saw the banking sector collapse in the wake of the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Many banks failed as the Great Depression and unemployment spread across the country, and customers or businesses could not afford to repay their loans. It was only after this financial crisis where the federal government began keeping more stringent and accurate records on its banking sector, therefore precise figures and the reasons behind these bank failures are not always clear. Franklin D. Roosevelt Just two days after assuming office in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt drastically declared a bank holiday, and all banks in the country were closed from March 6 until March 13. This break allowed Congress to pass the Emergency Banking Act on March 9, which saw the Federal Reserve provide deposit insurance for all reopened banks thereafter. Through his first fireside chat, Roosevelt then encouraged Americans to re-deposit their money in the banks again, which successfully restored much of the public's faith in the banking system - it is estimated that over half of the cash withdrawn during the Great Depression was then returned to the banks by March 15.

From the 1920s until the Second World War, industrial output in the major economies of the Americas fluctuated greatly. Using manufacturing output in 1938 as a benchmark, the U.S. had fairly consistent output throughout the 1920s, before there was a significant drop after the Wall Street Crash in 1929 - by 1932, output fell to around two thirds of its 1929 level, and it would take another five years to recover thereafter. After the Recession of 1937-38, manufacturing output then doubled by the early-1940s, as the U.S. ramped up armament before it joined the Second World War. Output in 1943 was almost three times higher than it had been in 1938.

Canada's industrial output followed a similar trend to that of the U.S., whereas Mexico saw comparatively little change across the given period. Similar to Mexico, Brazil's manufacturing output was not drastically affected by the Great Depression, although Brazil saw the largest relative growth over the given period, with output in 1944 over five times higher than it had been in the mid-1920s - it should be noted, however, that both Latin American countries' manufacturing industries were at a much lower stage of development than the North American industries during this time.

From the beginning of the 20th century until the Second World War, nonagricultural employment in the United States rose significantly; however, this rise was not gradual, and employment fluctuated in many years. Overall, employment rose from around 18 million to 43 million workers during this time. Apart from a short dip during the post-WWI Recession of 1920-21, the largest deviation came after the Wall Street Crash in 1929, where nonagricultural employment fell from 37 to 27 million people in just three years. It then rose again after 1933, experienced a brief dip during the Recession of 1937-38, and then rose once more in the build up to the Second World War.

The economic instability of the Great Depression spread into virtually all areas of the economy, and downturn in the U.S. created a ripple effect that spread to countries all over the world. The mining industry in Chile, which has historically been one of the most important sectors of the economy, suffered massively during the Great Depression, as decreased international demand and higher tariffs saw exports to its major trading partners (Germany, the UK, and the U.S.) fall sharply. Chile's mining output in 1932 was just a quarter of its level in 1929. Mining in both the U.S. and Canada also fell during this time, and it was not until 1937 when they reached pre-Depression levels once more.

Throughout the 1920s, prices on the U.S. stock exchange rose exponentially, however, by the end of the decade, uncontrolled growth and a stock market propped up by speculation and borrowed money proved unsustainable, resulting in the Wall Street Crash of October 1929. This set a chain of events in motion that led to economic collapse - banks demanded repayment of debts, the property market crashed, and people stopped spending as unemployment rose. Within a year the country was in the midst of an economic depression, and the economy continued on a downward trend until late-1932.

It was during this time where Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was elected president, and he assumed office in March 1933 - through a series of economic reforms and New Deal policies, the economy began to recover. Stock prices fluctuated at more sustainable levels over the next decades, and developments were in line with overall economic development, rather than the uncontrolled growth seen in the 1920s. Overall, it took over 25 years for the Dow Jones value to reach its pre-Crash peak.

Over the course of the 1920s, the value of money deposited in commercial banks grew at a fairly steady rate, rising from around 19 billion U.S. dollars in 1921 (the initial dip was due to the post-WWI recession), to 25 billion at the end of the decade. However, the onset of the Great Depression saw these figures drop drastically, and the value of deposits fell from around 26 to 16 billion dollars between 1930 and 1933. This was not only due to high unemployment and lower wages, but many Americans also lost faith in the banks during the Depression - many blamed the banks for the Depression as frivolous lending practices had contributed to the Wall Street Crash; banks demanded early repayment of debts and often repossessed the property of those who could not afford to do so (also leading to evictions), and many banks failed after the Crash and were not perceived as safe. It was not until 1936 where deposits in commercial banks returned to their pre-Depression levels, after the Roosevelt administration put a number of safeguards in place and helped restore public faith in the American banking system.

In contrast to commercial banks, the total amount of money deposited in savings accounts continued to rise throughout the Great Depression, albeit at a much slower rate than in the 1920s. The reason for continued increase was due to the disproportionate impact the Depression had across socioeconomic groups - most working and middle-class Americans did not have the means to have a savings account

During the 19th century, the United States generally had a negative trade balance, importing more than it exported, particularly from the British Empire. This changed at the turn of the 20th century, and the U.S. consistently had a positive trade balance between 1896 and 1970. The greatest periods of fluctuation came during the world wars, as well as an observable decline following the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

While inflation rates increased the total value of imports and exports over time, the rate of growth did increase significantly from 1900 onwards. The early 20th century saw the U.S. move away from its traditional isolationist policies (apart from a brief period during the great Depression) and emerge as a global superpower. Following the Second World War, the U.S. used its economic power to maintain its influence across the globe, as it sought to suppress the expansion of communism.

The early-20th century is often considered the most destructive period in European history, with the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s being defined by various aspects including recovery from the First World War, as well as fluctuating political and economic stability. In particular, the onset of the Great Depression in the U.S. created a ripple effect that was felt across the globe, especially in Europe. During this time, all major currencies were connected via the gold standard; however, several European countries had suspended the gold standard to print additional money during the First World War, and conditions had not re-stabilized by the onset of the Great Depression in the U.S. - the given countries would all abandon the gold standard by the outbreak of war in 1939. Germany Additionally, American investors withdrew much of their capital from Europe in the wake of the Wall Street Crash in 1929, and the U.S. government ceased all loans to Germany and demanded advanced repayments. The German economy had already collapsed in the early-1920s, and it became dependent on American loans to stabilize its economy and meet its reparation payments - this move by the American government caused a German economic collapse once more, sending the economy into a downward spiral. Regional differences For France, its industrial output dropped in the wake of the Great Depression, and it would not reach these levels again until after the Second World War. In contrast, the Soviet Union was largely shielded from the Great Depression, and its industrial output grew significantly in the build-up to WWII (albeit from a much less-developed starting point). For the other three countries listed, output would not reach pre-Depression levels until at least 1934.

Between the 1880s and the 1970s, the total number of strikes and lockouts saw an overall upward trend, while the number of workers involved rose until the Second World War, after which point it fluctuated. Compared to later years, the number of strikes were lowest in the late-19th century and again in the 1920s. While this was partly due to a smaller workforce and economic stability during these periods, it was also because there were fewer legal protections for workers who went on strike - as these protections improved over time, workers felt more secure in protesting. Workers rights in the U.S. As the industrial revolution progressed during the 19th century, the share of the U.S. workforce employed in manufacturing industries rose accordingly. Prior to this, labor movements and unions were generally viewed as detrimental to business and treated with disdain by authorities and business leaders - as industrialization changed the working landscape in the U.S., workers began to demand better wages and working conditions.

Apart from some movement on local and state level, it was not until the Great Depression when the federal government began to expand workers rights on a national level; this included a minimum wage, federal pensions, unemployment securities, and the right to unionize, among others. While these New Deal improvements did expand job security in some form for most workers, they did not completely remove discrimination in areas such as age, disability, gender, or race - it would take decades for legal protections to be expanded for workers belonging to these other groups. However, the 1970s and 1980s also saw the the government begin to strip away workers' rights on both state and national levels - deregulation was seen as the key to promoting enterprise, and this often involved dismantling labor unions and removing workers' rights.

During the Great Depression in the United States in 1930s, the federal government's share of relief spending in major cities changed drastically following the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The previous administration of President Herbert Hoover oversaw the beginning of the depression in 1930, however federal spending on relief was virtually non-existent until his final year in office, and the share of overall relief spending was just two percent in 1932.

With Roosevelt's New Deal, the U.S. government established various agencies and programs that provided relief for its citizens. This included the introduction of social security systems, as well as the creation of public works programs which created government jobs in areas such as construction and infrastructure. In later years, economic recovery also allowed for the expansion of these programs into areas such as disability benefits, and per capita relief spending more than doubled from 1933 to 1936.

Agricultural wages the U.S. in 1948 were almost 10 times higher than those in 1818. Wages fluctuated throughout the 19th century, with a notable dip in the 1870s - factors such as technological improvements, high interest rates, and international competition saw productivity increase, but this led to the crop price per unit falling, driving wages down as smaller farms struggled to compete with larger landowners. Wages then rose during the 1910s, as the agricultural sector boomed due to the demands of the First World War. The post-war recession then created a farming crisis in the early 1920s, but there was some recovery by the end of the decade. Agriculture was then the hardest hit sector of the economy during the Great Depression in the 1930s, before New Deal reforms and the onset of the Second World War helped re-stabilize the industry from the mid-1930s onward, and wages rose rapidly thereafter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a stock market index used to analyze trends in the stock market. While many economists prefer to use other, market-weighted indices (the DJIA is price-weighted) as they are perceived to be more representative of the overall market, the Dow Jones remains one of the most commonly-used indices today, and its longevity allows for historical events and long-term trends to be analyzed over extended periods of time. Average changes in yearly closing prices, for example, shows how markets developed year on year. Figures were more sporadic in early years, but the impact of major events can be observed throughout. For example, the occasions where a decrease of more than 25 percent was observed each coincided with a major recession; these include the Post-WWI Recession in 1920, the Great Depression in 1929, the Recession of 1937-38, the 1973-75 Recession, and the Great Recession in 2008.

In the wake of the Great Depression, many European economies adopted protectionist policies in order to boost their domestic industries and shield them from foreign competition. The most common way that countries do this is by placing restrictions and huge tariffs on foreign imports, therefore giving an advantage to producers in their home markets. Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the global depression that followed, fifteen countries in Europe increased import tariffs by an average of 64 percent; with tariffs more than doubling in Germany, who had been struggling with the economic fallout of the First World War for more than a decade by this point. Tariffs in the agricultural sector also increased significantly, more than tripling in Germany and more than doubling in France and Italy.