Unemployment Rate in the United States decreased to 4.10 percent in June from 4.20 percent in May 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 February 2025, the national unemployment level of the United States stood at about 7.05 million unemployed persons. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method for removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends.

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

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

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Level - 20 Yrs. & over (LNS13000024) from Jan 1948 to May 2025 about 20 years +, household survey, unemployment, and USA.

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.

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.

Historical chart and data for the united states national unemployment rate back to 1948. Compares the level and annual rate of change.

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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 16-24 Yrs. (LNS14024887) from Jan 1948 to Jun 2025 about 16 to 24 years, unemployment, rate, and USA.

United States - Unemployment Rate was 4.20% in May 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 July of 2025.

Youth Unemployment Rate in the United States increased to 10 percent in June from 9.70 percent in May of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Youth Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The unadjusted unemployment rate in the United States stood at 3.9 percent in October 2024. This data is not seasonally adjusted. The adjusted monthly unemployment rate can be found here and the monthly civilian labor force participation rate here.

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.

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.

Employment Rate in the United States remained unchanged at 59.70 percent in June. This dataset provides - United States Employment Rate- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The unemployment rate in fiscal year 2204 rose to 3.9 percent. The unemployment rate of the United States which has been steadily decreasing since the 2008 financial crisis, spiked to 8.1 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual unemployment rate of the U.S. since 1990 can be found here. Falling unemployment The unemployment rate, or the part of the U.S. labor force that is without a job, fell again in 2022 after peaking at 8.1 percent in 2020 - a rate that has not been seen since the years following the 2008 financial crisis. The financial crash caused unemployment in the U.S. to soar from 4.6 percent in 2007 to 9.6 percent in 2010. Since 2010, the unemployment rate had been steadily falling, meaning that more and more people are finding work, whether that be through full-time employment or part-time employment. However, the affects of the COVID-19 pandemic created a spike in unemployment across the country. U.S. unemployment in comparison Compared to unemployment rates in the European Union, U.S. unemployment is relatively low. Greece was hit particularly hard by the 2008 financial crisis and faced a government debt crisis that sent the Greek economy into a tailspin. Due to this crisis, and the added impact of the pandemic, Greece still has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union.

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

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.