Unemployment rate (per cent; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: US Employment Situation (BLS)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. In the United States, the unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent in September 2026, compared to 4.1 in August 2026.
Sample. The monthly series shown in the graph has 944 data points overall. The time period covered by the series extends from January 1948 to September 2026.
History. Here's a glimpse of a few simple statistics we calculated on the full sample: the unemployment rate averaged 5.7 per cent; it reached its lowest level of 2.5 in June 1953; it recorded its maximum of 14.8 in April 2020.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Per cent |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 4.10000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 4.10000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 4.20000 |
Tip. Our metadata often comprise references to the sources of the data we provide. You can use these references to find more details.
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Unemployment rate |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Stock |
| Data type | Ratio |
| Seasonally adjusted | Yes |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Rescaling | None |
| Measure type | Level |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Unit | Per cent |
| Source | Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) |
| Source type | National statistical agency |
| Data licence | Public Domain Data |
| Other information | Not available |
| FSR temporal aggregation code | SM1 |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.
Headline
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total nonfarm employment (thousand persons; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 945 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Unemployment rate (per cent; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 944 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Labour force participation rate (per cent; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 944 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Employment–population ratio (per cent; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 944 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Average hourly earnings (total private; US dollars per hour; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 247 | 2006-03-31 | 2026-09-30 |
Household survey
Establishment survey
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total private employment (thousand persons; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 945 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Goods-producing employment (thousand persons; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 945 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Private service-providing employment (thousand persons; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 945 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Government employment (thousand persons; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 945 | 1948-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |
Hours and overtime
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average weekly hours (total private; hours; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 247 | 2006-03-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Average weekly hours (manufacturing; hours; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 247 | 2006-03-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Average overtime hours (manufacturing; hours; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 247 | 2006-03-31 | 2026-09-30 |
Earnings
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average weekly earnings (total private; US dollars per week; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 247 | 2006-03-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Average real hourly earnings (total private; 1982–84 US dollars per hour; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 246 | 2006-03-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Average hourly earnings (manufacturing; US dollars per hour; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 247 | 2006-03-31 | 2026-09-30 |
| Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees (total private; US dollars per hour; seasonally adjusted) - United States - BLS - Monthly | 753 | 1964-01-31 | 2026-09-30 |