What the US unemployment rate measures
Of everyone in the labor force – people who either have a job or are actively looking for one – the unemployment rate is the percentage without work and searching. It comes from the Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of about 60,000 households run by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and is released with the jobs report, usually on the first Friday of the month. People who have stopped looking are not counted as unemployed; they are outside the labor force.
How to read this chart
The pattern is unmistakable: the rate climbs quickly during recessions (grey bands) and falls slowly during expansions. A rise of about half a point from its recent low has historically been a reliable sign that a recession has begun – the so-called Sahm rule. The single-month spike in 2020 is the pandemic lockdown, the fastest jump and one of the fastest recoveries on record.
The latest reading in context
- At 4.2%, the latest reading is above its 5-year average of 4.0% and below its 10-year average of 4.5%.
- Of all 944 monthly readings since January 1948, 20% were lower than today’s and 77% were higher.
- Direction: up 0.1 points over the past month; down 0.1 points over the past six months; down 0.2 points over the past year.
- The highest value on record is 14.8% (April 2020, 6 years ago); the lowest is 2.5% (May 1953, 73 years ago).
- The full history spans 12 US recessions, shaded grey on the chart.
Unemployment rate by state
In September 2026 the highest unemployment rate was in District of Columbia (5.6%) and the lowest in South Dakota (2.0%). Against the national rate of 4.2%, 18 had a higher rate and 31 a lower one. Choose a state to see its full history in the chart above.
| State | Sep 2026 | Year earlier | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 4.2% | 4.4% | −0.2 pts | |
| Alabama | 3.5% | 2.8% | +0.7 pts | 33 |
| Alaska | 4.3% | 4.7% | −0.4 pts | 16 |
| Arizona | 4.9% | 4.4% | +0.5 pts | 6 |
| Arkansas | 3.9% | 4.2% | −0.3 pts | 25 |
| California | 5.1% | 5.5% | −0.4 pts | 2 |
| Colorado | 4.1% | 3.8% | +0.3 pts | 21 |
| Connecticut | 5.1% | 4.2% | +0.9 pts | 2 |
| Delaware | 4.6% | 5.2% | −0.6 pts | 11 |
| District of Columbia | 5.6% | 6.6% | −1.0 pts | 1 |
| Florida | 4.4% | 4.2% | +0.2 pts | 14 |
| Georgia | 3.3% | 3.4% | −0.1 pts | 39 |
| Hawaii | 2.8% | 2.1% | +0.7 pts | 47 |
| Idaho | 3.6% | 3.6% | 0.0 pts | 28 |
| Illinois | 4.6% | 4.5% | +0.1 pts | 11 |
| Indiana | 3.4% | 3.7% | −0.3 pts | 35 |
| Iowa | 3.2% | 3.4% | −0.2 pts | 42 |
| Kansas | 3.8% | 3.8% | 0.0 pts | 27 |
| Kentucky | 4.7% | 4.5% | +0.2 pts | 8 |
| Louisiana | 4.0% | 4.2% | −0.2 pts | 22 |
| Maine | 3.3% | 3.3% | 0.0 pts | 39 |
| Maryland | 3.9% | 4.3% | −0.4 pts | 25 |
| Massachusetts | 4.3% | 4.6% | −0.3 pts | 16 |
| Michigan | 5.0% | 4.9% | +0.1 pts | 4 |
| Minnesota | 4.5% | 4.1% | +0.4 pts | 13 |
| Mississippi | 3.3% | 3.7% | −0.4 pts | 39 |
| Missouri | 3.6% | 3.9% | −0.3 pts | 28 |
| Montana | 3.1% | 3.5% | −0.4 pts | 44 |
| Nebraska | 2.9% | 2.9% | 0.0 pts | 46 |
| Nevada | 4.7% | 5.2% | −0.5 pts | 8 |
| New Hampshire | 2.6% | 3.2% | −0.6 pts | 48 |
| New Jersey | 4.2% | 5.5% | −1.3 pts | 19 |
| New Mexico | 4.7% | 4.2% | +0.5 pts | 8 |
| New York | 4.3% | 4.6% | −0.3 pts | 16 |
| North Carolina | 3.4% | 3.9% | −0.5 pts | 35 |
| North Dakota | 2.2% | 2.6% | −0.4 pts | 50 |
| Ohio | 3.4% | 4.3% | −0.9 pts | 35 |
| Oklahoma | 4.2% | 3.6% | +0.6 pts | 19 |
| Oregon | 5.0% | 5.3% | −0.3 pts | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.6% | 4.4% | −0.8 pts | 28 |
| Puerto Rico | 6.2% | 5.7% | +0.5 pts | – |
| Rhode Island | 3.6% | 4.3% | −0.7 pts | 28 |
| South Carolina | 4.0% | 4.7% | −0.7 pts | 22 |
| South Dakota | 2.0% | 2.1% | −0.1 pts | 51 |
| Tennessee | 3.4% | 3.5% | −0.1 pts | 35 |
| Texas | 4.4% | 4.3% | +0.1 pts | 14 |
| Utah | 3.5% | 3.6% | −0.1 pts | 33 |
| Vermont | 2.6% | 2.6% | 0.0 pts | 48 |
| Virginia | 3.6% | 3.4% | +0.2 pts | 28 |
| Washington | 4.8% | 4.7% | +0.1 pts | 7 |
| West Virginia | 4.0% | 4.5% | −0.5 pts | 22 |
| Wisconsin | 3.2% | 3.1% | +0.1 pts | 42 |
| Wyoming | 3.0% | 3.4% | −0.4 pts | 45 |
Seasonally adjusted. Rank 1 = highest rate; equal rates share a rank. The table covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico (not ranked). The full monthly history of every state since January 1976 is available as a CSV file.
Why it matters
Maximum employment is half of the Federal Reserve’s mandate, so the unemployment rate weighs heavily on interest-rate decisions. It also drives consumer confidence, wage growth and political debate, and it determines how long extended jobless benefits are available in many states.
What moves the US unemployment rate
- The business cycle: layoffs in recessions, hiring in expansions
- Labor force participation, as people enter or leave the job search
- Structural factors such as skills mismatches and demographics
- Policy shocks, like the 2020 shutdowns
Key moments in its history
- 1953A record low of 2.5% during the Korean War economy.
- Nov 1982Reached 10.8% after the Fed’s fight against inflation.
- Oct 2009Peaked at 10.0% in the Great Recession.
- Apr 2020Jumped to about 14.8%, the highest since records began in 1948.
- 2023Fell to 3.4%, the lowest since 1969.
US Unemployment Rate data tables
Average by decade
| Decade | Average | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s (so far) | 4.8% | 14.8% | 3.4% |
| 2010s | 6.2% | 9.9% | 3.5% |
| 2000s | 5.5% | 10.0% | 3.8% |
| 1990s | 5.8% | 7.8% | 4.0% |
| 1980s | 7.3% | 10.8% | 5.0% |
| 1970s | 6.2% | 9.0% | 3.9% |
| 1960s | 4.8% | 7.1% | 3.4% |
| 1950s | 4.5% | 7.5% | 2.5% |
| 1940s | 4.9% | 7.9% | 3.4% |
Last 12 months
| Period | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 4.2% | +0.1 pts |
| Aug 2026 | 4.1% | 0.0 pts |
| Jul 2026 | 4.1% | −0.1 pts |
| Jun 2026 | 4.2% | −0.1 pts |
| May 2026 | 4.3% | 0.0 pts |
| Apr 2026 | 4.3% | 0.0 pts |
| Mar 2026 | 4.3% | −0.1 pts |
| Feb 2026 | 4.4% | +0.1 pts |
| Jan 2026 | 4.3% | −0.1 pts |
| Dec 2025 | 4.4% | −0.1 pts |
| Nov 2025 | 4.5% | |
| Oct 2025 | n/a | not published |
Monthly values. Decade figures are averages of the monthly values in each decade. The complete history is available as a CSV file.
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US Unemployment Rate: questions and answers
How is the unemployment rate calculated?
Number of unemployed people divided by the labor force (employed plus unemployed). To be counted as unemployed you must be without work, available to work and have looked for a job in the past four weeks.
What is a normal unemployment rate?
Economists estimate the long-run “natural” rate for the US at around 4% to 4.5%. Rates well below that tend to push wages and inflation up; rates well above it signal slack.
Why was October 2025 missing?
The household survey for October 2025 was not conducted during a federal government shutdown, so no unemployment rate was published for that month and the chart shows a gap.
Where can I see the unemployment rate for my state?
Pick the state from the list above the right-hand chart, or click it in the table of states. The page address then ends in ?state= and the postal code, so you can bookmark or share that state’s chart. State figures start in January 1976.
Why don’t the state rates average out to the national rate?
The national rate comes directly from the monthly household survey. The survey sample in a single state is too small to rely on by itself, so the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates state rates with statistical models that also use payroll and unemployment-insurance data. A population-weighted average of the states comes close to the national rate, but rarely matches it exactly.
When are state unemployment rates released?
About two weeks after the national jobs report, in the BLS State Employment and Unemployment release. For part of each month the state chart therefore ends one month earlier than the national chart.
Where does the data on this chart come from?
From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. ChartWidgets downloads the series (UNRATE) from FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis database, and checks for new releases every day. The state rates are the FRED series named after each state’s postal code, such as CAUR for California. The last update was on November 1, 2026.