Unemployment Rate in the United States increased to 4.20 percent in July from 4.10 percent in June 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.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Unemployment Rate Male: 15 Years or over for United States (LRUNTTMAUSQ156N) from Q1 1955 to Q2 2025 about 15 years +, males, unemployment, rate, and USA.

The seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate is measured on a monthly basis in the United States. In February 2025, 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 for United States (Q0892BUSQ156SNBR) from Q2 1940 to Q4 1946 about 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 US: Unemployment Rate: % Change over Previous Period data was reported at -11.538 % in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.111 % for Mar 2018. United States US: Unemployment Rate: % Change over Previous Period data is updated quarterly, averaging -2.353 % from Jun 1948 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 281 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 85.859 % in Mar 1954 and a record low of -25.221 % in Jun 1950. United States US: 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 USA – Table US.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Quarterly.

United States US: Unemployment: % Change data was reported at -9.211 % in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of -10.159 % for Mar 2018. United States US: Unemployment: % Change data is updated quarterly, averaging -3.369 % from Mar 1949 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 278 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 122.277 % in Jun 1954 and a record low of -45.390 % in Mar 1951. United States US: Unemployment: % Change data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Quarterly.

Graph and download economic data for Noncyclical Rate of Unemployment from Q1 1949 to Q4 2035 about NAIRU, long-term, projection, unemployment, rate, and USA.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate in the information industry in the United States stood at *** percent, increasing from *** percent in the same quarter of 2023. In 2020, the tech industry was hit hard by the economic recession brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, registering a record ** percent unemployment rate during the second quarter. Information industry in the U.S. The U.S. information industry consists of those businesses involved in the production or distribution of information, those involved in providing a means to distribute information and data, and those involved in data processing. More specifically, the sector is comprised of * segments: publishing industries (except internet), motion picture and sound recording industries, broadcasting (except internet), telecommunications, data processing/hosting, and other information services. Employment in the U.S. information industry As a whole, the sector employs nearly ************* people around the United States and accounts for a significant portion of the country’s entertainment industry. As unemployment has fallen, average hourly earnings within the sector have also risen sharply within the past decade, now amounting to almost ** dollars per hour. This trend towards more favorable employment conditions comes at a time when union membership within the industry declined to *** percent in 2022.

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Program is a Federal-State cooperative program between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the California EDD’s Labor Market Information Division (LMID). The QCEW program produces a comprehensive tabulation of employment and wage information for workers covered by California Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and Federal workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program. The QCEW program serves as a near census of monthly employment and quarterly wage information by 6-digit industry codes from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at the national, state, and county levels. At the national level, the QCEW program publishes employment and wage data for nearly every NAICS industry. At the state and local area level, the QCEW program publishes employment and wage data down to the 6-digit NAICS industry level, if disclosure restrictions are met. In accordance with the BLS policy, data provided to the Bureau in confidence are used only for specified statistical purposes and are not published. The BLS withholds publication of Unemployment Insurance law-covered employment and wage data for any industry level when necessary to protect the identity of cooperating employers. Data from the QCEW program serve as an important input to many BLS programs. The Current Employment Statistics and the Occupational Employment Statistics programs use the QCEW data as the benchmark source for employment. The UI administrative records collected under the QCEW program serve as a sampling frame for the BLS establishment surveys. In addition, the data serve as an input to other federal and state programs. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Commerce uses the QCEW data as the base for developing the wage and salary component of personal income. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and California's EDD use the QCEW data to administer the Unemployment Insurance program. The QCEW data accurately reflect the extent of coverage of California’s UI laws and are used to measure UI revenues; national, state and local area employment; and total and UI taxable wage trends. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes new QCEW data in its County Employment and Wages news release on a quarterly basis. The BLS also publishes a subset of its quarterly data through the Create Customized Tables system, and full quarterly industry detail data at all geographic levels.

The unadjusted unemployment rate in the United States stood at 4.4 percent in June 2025. This data is not seasonally adjusted. The adjusted monthly unemployment rate can be found here and the monthly civilian labor force participation rate here.

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.

United States US: Employment: % Change data was reported at 1.534 % in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.623 % for Mar 2018. United States US: Employment: % Change data is updated quarterly, averaging 1.646 % from Mar 1949 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 278 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.110 % in Jun 1984 and a record low of -4.081 % in Sep 2009. United States US: Employment: % Change data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Quarterly.

United States US: Employment Index data was reported at 112.136 2010=100 in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 110.771 2010=100 for Mar 2018. United States US: Employment Index data is updated quarterly, averaging 72.841 2010=100 from Mar 1948 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 282 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 112.136 2010=100 in Jun 2018 and a record low of 40.537 2010=100 in Mar 1950. United States US: Employment Index data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Quarterly.

United States US: Employment: % Change over Previous Period data was reported at 1.232 % in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.027 % for Mar 2018. United States US: Employment: % Change over Previous Period data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.295 % from Jun 1948 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 281 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.381 % in Jun 1950 and a record low of -4.407 % in Mar 1958. United States US: Employment: % 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 USA – Table US.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Quarterly.

United States US: Labour Force: % Change data was reported at 1.078 % in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.048 % for Mar 2018. United States US: Labour Force: % Change data is updated quarterly, averaging 1.363 % from Mar 1949 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 278 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.930 % in Dec 1955 and a record low of -0.888 % in Dec 2009. United States US: Labour Force: % Change data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Quarterly.

United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Unemployment rate: Aged 15-64: All persons for OECD - Total was 5.04157 Percentage in October of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Unemployment rate: Aged 15-64: All persons for OECD - Total reached a record high of 8.77130 in January of 2010 and a record low of 4.96738 in April of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Unemployment rate: Aged 15-64: All persons for OECD - Total - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Unemployment rate: Aged 25-54: Males for OECD - Total was 4.11878 Percentage in October of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Unemployment rate: Aged 25-54: Males for OECD - Total reached a record high of 7.80746 in July of 2009 and a record low of 4.04176 in April of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Unemployment rate: Aged 25-54: Males for OECD - Total - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Unemployment Rate Total: From 15 to 64 Years for United States (LRUN64TTUSQ156S) from Q1 1970 to Q2 2025 about 15 to 64 years, unemployment, rate, and USA.

United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Harmonised unemployment - monthly rates: Aged 25 and over: Females for OECD - Total was 4.35774 Percentage in October of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Harmonised unemployment - monthly rates: Aged 25 and over: Females for OECD - Total reached a record high of 7.72323 in April of 2020 and a record low of 4.28949 in October of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Labour Force Survey - quarterly rates: Harmonised unemployment - monthly rates: Aged 25 and over: Females for OECD - Total - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.