The unemployment rate

4.1%

Civilian unemployment, household survey
as of Jul 1, 2026 · BLS (Employment Situation)
retrieved Sep 2, 2026, 12:36 a.m. ET

Unemployment rate, Sep 1, 2015 – Jul 1, 2026. Values as published; retrieved Sep 2, 2026, 12:36 a.m. ET. Source: BLS (Employment Situation), FRED series UNRATE.

1 year ago

4.3%

5-year avg

4.0%

Cycle peak

14.8%

What this series shows

The share of the labour force that is without work and actively looking for it, from the monthly household survey.

The definition does the work here. People who are not looking are not counted as unemployed, and they are not counted in the labour force either — so a fall in the rate can reflect either people finding jobs or people giving up the search. Reading it alongside the participation rate is the standard correction for that ambiguity.

It is one of the indicators the FOMC weighs against the maximum-employment half of its mandate, though the Committee has deliberately never committed to a target level for it.