Unemployment Rate
The percentage of the labor force that is jobless and actively seeking work.
What is Unemployment Rate?
The unemployment rate is the percentage of the labor force — people who are employed or actively looking for work — that is currently jobless and actively seeking employment. Published monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is one of the most closely watched economic indicators. The official rate (U-3) counts those without jobs who have actively searched in the past four weeks. A broader measure (U-6) also includes discouraged workers (who have given up searching) and part-time workers who want full-time work. Full employment is generally considered a U-3 rate of around 4–5%, reflecting the natural level of frictional and structural unemployment.
Example
During the COVID-19 pandemic, US unemployment spiked from 3.5% in February 2020 to 14.7% in April 2020 — the highest since the Great Depression — as businesses closed and laid off workers en masse. By July 2023, the rate had recovered to 3.5%, reflecting a historically tight labor market.