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.

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 - 16-19 Yrs. (LNS14000012) from Jan 1948 to Jun 2025 about 16 to 19 years, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

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.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., Women was 9.50% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., Women reached a record high of 37.30 in April of 2020 and a record low of 4.90 in December of 1952. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., Women - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

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 - 16-19 Yrs., Black or African American (LNU04000018) from Jan 1972 to Jun 2025 about 16 to 19 years, African-American, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs., Women was 12.60% in June of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs., Women reached a record high of 39.00 in April of 2020 and a record low of 4.50 in March of 1953. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs., Women - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

The average for 2024 based on 19 countries was 6.88 percent. The highest value was in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 18.06 percent and the lowest value was in Guatemala: 2.22 percent. The indicator is available from 1991 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs., Men was 13.60% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs., Men reached a record high of 33.50 in January of 2010 and a record low of 3.80 in October of 1952. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs., Men - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., White was 12.60% in June of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., White reached a record high of 32.30 in April of 2020 and a record low of 8.40 in September of 1956. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., White - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs. was 10.20% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs. reached a record high of 33.30 in April of 2020 and a record low of 5.20 in August of 1951. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 18-19 Yrs. - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Unemployment Rate in Germany remained unchanged at 6.30 percent in July. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Germany Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

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 - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs. was 11.50% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs. reached a record high of 32.20 in April of 2020 and a record low of 5.70 in October of 1951. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs. - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., Black or African American was 19.30% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., Black or African American reached a record high of 57.40 in June of 1982 and a record low of 8.70 in January of 2025. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - 16-19 Yrs., Black or African American - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Unemployment Rate in Jordan decreased to 21.30 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 21.40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Jordan Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

According to a forecast from May 2024, the unemployment rate in Italy could reach 7.5 percent by the end of the year, two percentage points less than 2021, when the COVID-19 outbreak had a disastrous impact on the labor market. The rate is then expected to drop to 7.3 percent in 2025. Weak employment situation Unemployment in Italy started increasing after the 2008 financial crisis and peaked at 12.7 percent in 2014. It mostly affected the young population. Similarly, the youth unemployment rate also increased significantly during the same period, reaching over 40 percent in 2014. Even if the figures decreased in the following years, in 2022 the rates were still particularly high in the southern regions. Indeed, the youth unemployment rate in the regions of Sicily and Campania stood at around 43 percent. COVID-19 impact on the economy The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak had a serious impact on Italy’s economy. In June 2020, most Italian respondents declared that the coronavirus pandemic had impacted or would impact their personal incomes in the future. In addition, the fear of losing the job due to the pandemic has been increasing in the country, with more than half of respondents worrying about this in July 2020.

Russia Unemployment: Percent of Total: Age 15 to 19 data was reported at 3.800 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.200 % for 2016. Russia Unemployment: Percent of Total: Age 15 to 19 data is updated yearly, averaging 9.100 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2017, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.800 % in 1992 and a record low of 3.800 % in 2017. Russia Unemployment: Percent of Total: Age 15 to 19 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.GB014: Unemployment: by Age.

Unemployment Rate in Greece decreased to 7.90 percent in May from 8.30 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Greece Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.