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 remained unchanged at 4.20 percent in May. 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 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.

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

Number of job seekers in 2016 (Lorraine: 2014) Unemployment rate 2016 (in %, Lorraine: 2014) Territorial entities: Cantons (LOR, LUX), Kreise (RLP, SL), arrondissements (WAL) Statistical data sources: INSEE Grand Est, Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz, Statistisches Amt Saarland, STATEC, IWEPS. Calculations: LISER 2018 Geodata sources: ACT Luxembourg 2017, IGN France 2017, GeoBasis-DE / BKG 2017, NGI-Belgium 2017. Harmonization: SIG-GR / GIS-GR 2018

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.

In May 2024, about 4.5 percent of recent college graduates were unemployed in the United States. This was a significant decrease from September 2020, when the unemployment rate among recent college graduates was at nine percent.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - Women (LNS14000002) from Jan 1948 to May 2025 about females, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

Youth Unemployment Rate in the United States increased to 9.70 percent in May from 9.60 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Youth Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Unemployment Rate in Iraq increased to 15.50 percent in 2024 from 15.40 percent in 2023. This dataset provides - Iraq Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Venezuela VE: Unemployment Rate: % Change over Previous Period data was reported at 3.458 % in Apr 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of -2.624 % for Mar 2016. Venezuela VE: Unemployment Rate: % Change over Previous Period data is updated monthly, averaging -2.313 % from Feb 1999 (Median) to Apr 2016, with 204 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 69.779 % in Jan 2014 and a record low of -25.264 % in Feb 2008. Venezuela VE: Unemployment Rate: % Change over Previous Period data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Venezuela – Table VE.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment.

Employment and unemployment data by city for places in San Mateo County. CDP is "Census Designated Place" - a recognized community that was unincorporated at the time of the 2000 Census.

1) Data may not add due to rounding. All unemployment rates shown are calculated on unrounded data. 2) These data are not seasonally adjusted.

Methodology: Monthly city and CDP labor force data are derived by multiplying current estimates of county employment and unemployment by the employment and unemployment shares (ratios) of each city and CDP at the time of the 2000 Census. Ratios for cities of 25,000 or more persons were developed from special tabulations based on household population only from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For smaller cities and CDP, ratios were calculated from published census data.

City and CDP unrounded employment and unemployment are summed to get the labor force. The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing unemployment by the labor force. Then the labor force, employment, and unemployment are rounded.

This method assumes that the rates of change in employment and unemployment, since 2000, are exactly the same in each city and CDP as at the county level (i.e., that the shares are still accurate). If this assumption is not true for a specific city or CDP, then the estimates for that area may not represent the current economic conditions. Since this assumption is untested, caution should be employed when using these data.

The percent of persons between the ages of 16 and 64 that are in the labor force (and are looking for work) but are not currently working. Source: American Community Survey Years Available: 2006-2010, 2007-2011, 2008-2012, 2009-2013, 2010-2014, 2011-2015, 2012-2016, 2013-2017, 2014-2018, 2015-2019, 2016-2020, 2017-2021, 2018-2022, 2019-2023Please note: We do not recommend comparing overlapping years of data due to the nature of this dataset. For more information, please visit: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/guidance/comparing-acs-data.html

This data set contains historical unemployment rates for Utah from 1950-2016. This data represents Table 5.1 from the Economic Report to the Governor 2016.

Local area labor force information. Information by calendar year including labor force, employed, unemployed, and unemployment rate. Statewide and county statistics.

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.

Share of unemployed persons under SGB II and III in the 15- to under 65-year-olds as at 31.12.2016 (MSS 2017, PLR, index indicator: Status 1), map with group formation according to standard deviation from the mean

United States US: Unemployment Rate: % Change data was reported at -10.616 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of -8.031 % for 2016. United States US: Unemployment Rate: % Change data is updated yearly, averaging -5.513 % from Dec 1949 (Median) to 2017, with 69 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 89.744 % in 1954 and a record low of -37.402 % in 1951. United States US: Unemployment Rate: % Change data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Annual.

In 2020, the unemployment rate in Ghana was at approximately 3.01 percent of the total labor force. The unemployment rate is the percentage of a country's labor force that are without jobs but are available to work and actively seeking employment. Ghana’s unemployment rate is above the worldwide unemployment rate, and compared to other Sub-Saharan African countries and other regions, Ghana has a relatively average rate of unemployment. Ghana’s population Due to the nature of its economy and its population size of over 30 million people, Ghana’s estimated GDP per capita amounts to just over 2,200 U.S. dollars in 2018 and forecast to rise continually over the next few years. Almost half of the country’s population works in the services sector, and around 33 percent work in agriculture. The population is relatively young, with only around 3 percent of the total population aged 65 years or older. Ghana’s hopeful future One of the most important economic centers of its region, Ghana’s GDP is at over 65 billion U.S. dollars, and it is projected to grow to over 97 billion U.S. dollars by 2024. Ghana is a country with several valuable natural resources, including gold, petroleum, cocoa, and natural gas. The country’s economy is particularly focused on manufacturing and exporting digital technology goods, and industrial materials. Ghana utilizes these exports domestically as well; its mixed economy is increasingly digital based. A regional leader, it has the goal of being the first African nation to become a developed country in the next decade. There are several positive indications encouraging this possibility, such as that GDP has grown each year, albeit at inconsistent rates.

Context

This is a dataset that I built by scraping the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. I was looking for county-level unemployment data and realized that there was a data source for this, but the data set itself hadn't existed yet, so I decided to write a scraper and build it out myself.

Content

This data represents the Local Area Unemployment Statistics from 1990-2016, broken down by state and month. The data itself is pulled from this mapping site:

https://data.bls.gov/map/MapToolServlet?survey=la&map=county&seasonal=u

Further, the ever-evolving and ever-improving codebase that pulled this data is available here:

https://github.com/jayrav13/bls_local_area_unemployment

Acknowledgements

Of course, a huge shoutout to bls.gov and their open and transparent data. I've certainly been inspired to dive into US-related data recently and having this data open further enables my curiosities.

Inspiration

I was excited about building this data set out because I was pretty sure something similar didn't exist - curious to see what folks can do with it once they run with it! A curious question I had was surrounding Unemployment vs 2016 Presidential Election outcome down to the county level. A comparison can probably lead to interesting questions and discoveries such as trends in local elections that led to their most recent election outcome, etc.

Next Steps

Version 1 of this is as a massive JSON blob, normalized by year / month / state. I intend to transform this into a CSV in the future as well.