The seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate is measured on a monthly basis in the United States. In October 2024, 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.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over (LNU04000024) from Jan 1948 to Feb 2025 about 20 years +, unemployment, rate, 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.

United States - Unemployment Rate was 4.10% in February 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 March of 2025.

Employment Rate in the United States decreased to 59.90 percent in February from 60.10 percent in January of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Employment Rate- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - 30-34 Yrs. (LNU04024933) from Jan 1981 to Feb 2025 about 30 to 34 years, unemployment, rate, and USA.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, Men was 3.80% in March of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, Men reached a record high of 12.90 in April of 2020 and a record low of 1.70 in October of 1952. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, Men - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate for United States (M0892BUSM156SNBR) from Jan 1940 to Dec 1946 about unemployment, rate, and USA.

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 September 2024, the District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate in the United States, with an unemployment rate of 5.7. The unemployment rate was also high in Nevada, with an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent in February. Unemployment in the U.S. A person is considered unemployed if they have no job and are currently looking for a job and available to work. The unemployment rate in the United States varies across states. Nation-wide unemployment was 3.4 percent as of April 2023. Unemployment can be affected by various factors including economic conditions and global competition. During economic prosperity, unemployment rates generally decrease and during times of recession, rates increase. The seasons can also have an impact on the unemployment rate, especially during winter, when there is lower demand for construction workers or other professionals who typically work outdoors. The retail sector also experiences fluctuating demand for workers, particularly during the holiday-shopping season, when demand for workers increases. For this reason, labor statistics are usually presented as being either seasonally adjusted or unadjusted. The data presented in this statistic have been seasonally adjusted, but the monthly unadjusted unemployment rate can be accessed here.

In 2024, the national unemployment level in the United States increased from the previous year to 6.76 million people. The number of unemployed persons in the U.S. reached a decades long high in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See the United States unemployment rate and the monthly unemployment rate for further information.

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.

United States - Unemployment Rate - Job Leavers was 0.50% in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - Job Leavers reached a record high of 1.00 in November of 1975 and a record low of 0.30 in May of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - Job Leavers - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate Full-Time Workers (LNS14100000) from Jan 1968 to Feb 2025 about full-time, workers, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

United States - Unemployment Rate - Black or African American was 6.30% in March of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - Black or African American reached a record high of 21.70 in June of 1983 and a record low of 5.10 in September of 2019. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - Black or African American - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-24 Yrs. was 8.30% in March of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-24 Yrs. reached a record high of 26.90 in April of 2020 and a record low of 4.50 in October of 1951. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-24 Yrs. - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

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.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, White Men was 3.40% in March of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, White Men reached a record high of 12.20 in April of 2020 and a record low of 1.60 in September of 1968. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, White Men - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.