The US unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 4.2 percent in November of 2021 from 4.6 percent in October and well below market expectations of 4.5 percent. It was the lowest jobless rate since February 2020, as the number of unemployed persons fell by 542,000 to 6.9 million. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate edged up to 61.8 percent in November, the highest level since March 2020, and is 1.5 percentage points lower than in February 2020. The employment-population ratio increased by 0.4 percentage points to 59.2 percent in November, up from its low of 51.3 percent in April 2020 but below 61.1 percent reported in February 2020. source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Unemployment Rate in the United States averaged 5.76 percent from 1948 until 2021, reaching an all time high of 14.80 percent in April of 2020 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953. This page 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. United States Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on December of 2021.

Unemployment Rate in the United States is expected to be 5.20 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United States Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 5.00 percent in 2022 and 4.30 percent in 2023, according to our econometric models.

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United States Unemployment Rate


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2021-11-05 12:30 PM Unemployment Rate Oct 4.6% 4.8% 4.7% 4.8%
2021-12-03 01:30 PM Unemployment Rate Nov 4.2% 4.6% 4.5% 4.6%
2022-01-07 01:30 PM Unemployment Rate Dec 4.2%


Related Last Unit Reference
Unemployment Rate 4.20 percent Nov/21
Non Farm Payrolls 210.00 Thousand Nov/21
Nonfarm Payrolls Private 235.00 Thousand Nov/21
Government Payrolls -25.00 Thousand Nov/21
Manufacturing Payrolls 31.00 Thousand Nov/21
Unemployed Persons 6877.00 Thousand Nov/21
Average Hourly Earnings 0.30 percent Nov/21
Average Weekly Hours 34.80 Hours Nov/21
Labor Force Participation Rate 61.80 percent Nov/21
Long Term Unemployment Rate 1.35 percent Nov/21
Youth Unemployment Rate 8.60 percent Nov/21
Average Hourly Earnings YoY 4.80 percent Nov/21
Employment Rate 59.20 percent Nov/21

News Stream
US Jobless Rate Falls More than Expected
The US unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 4.2 percent in November of 2021 from 4.6 percent in October and well below market expectations of 4.5 percent. It was the lowest jobless rate since February 2020, as the number of unemployed persons fell by 542,000 to 6.9 million. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate edged up to 61.8 percent in November, the highest level since March 2020, and is 1.5 percentage points lower than in February 2020. The employment-population ratio increased by 0.4 percentage points to 59.2 percent in November, up from its low of 51.3 percent in April 2020 but below 61.1 percent reported in February 2020.
2021-12-03
US Jobless Rate Seen Falling to New Pre-Pandemic Low of 4.5%
The US unemployment rate is seen falling further to 4.5 percent in November of 2021 from 4.6 percent in the previous month, the lowest since March 2020. The jobless rate dropped by 1.7 percentage points from 6.3 percent in January to 4.6 in October, but the labor force participation rate edged up only 0.2 percentage points from 61.4 percent to 61.6 percent, remaining well below 63.3 percent in February 2020 amid worries over coronavirus, difficulties finding child care and a desire by many workers to leave their jobs and pursue roles with more flexibility, wages or benefits. A rebound in labor force participation could be further delayed due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
2021-12-03
US Jobless Rate Drops to New Pandemic Low
The US unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in October 2021, the lowest since March 2020 and slightly below market expectations of 4.7 percent. The labor market continued to gradually recover from the pandemic hit, helped by a surge in demand for labor, record levels of job openings, the expiration of enhanced jobless benefits and the subsiding summer wave of COVID-19 infections. The number of unemployed people declined by 255 thousand to 7.4 million in October, while employment levels rose by 359 thousand to 154.0 million. Still, the unemployment rate remained well above the pre-crisis level of about 3.5 percent, amid reports of persistent worker shortages.
2021-11-05

United States Unemployment Rate
In the United States, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.