Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
The real unemployment rate in the U.S. is closer to 10 percent, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday, after misclassification errors are factored in to the official government figure. The current unemployment rate, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, is 6.3 percent.
The unemployment rate decreased by 1.0 percentage point to 6.9 percent in October 2020. That was the sixth consecutive month the rate has declined, but it was still nearly twice the February rate of 3.5 percent.
The highest rate of U.S. unemployment was 24.9% in 1933, during the Great Depression. 1 Unemployment remained above 14% from 1931 to 1940. It remained in the single digits until September 1982 when it reached 10.1%. 2 During the Great Recession, unemployment reached 10% in October 2009.
Job market remains tight in 2019, as the unemployment rate falls to its lowest level since 1969. The U.S. labor market remained strong in 2019, as the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent, the lowest rate since 1969.
Massachusetts offers a whopping $855 per week as its maximum benefit, while Hawaii's maximum payment is $648. These two states also have a high cost of living—Hawaii's being the highest of all according to the Cost of Living Index from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
Unemployment rate by jurisdiction
| Rank | Rank (50 states) | State federal district or territory |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Nevada |
| 2 | 2 | Michigan |
| 3 | 3 | Hawaii |
| 4 | 4 | Rhode Island |
U.S. unemployment rate: 4.5 percent, March 2020.
Q: What was the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the United States? A: 2.5% (May, June of 1953). The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides us with data that goes back until January 1st, 1948.
The unemployment rate in April 2020 increased by 10.3 percentage points to 14.7 percent. This is the highest rate and the largest over-the-month increase in the history of the data (available back to January 1948).
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — MARCH 2021
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March, and the unemployment rate edged down to 6.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
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