United States — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for United States, 1991–2025.
Unemployment for United States was 4.20% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 9.63% in 2010. The lowest was 3.64% in 2023 (about 1.2× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.41% per year.
United States ranks 118 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 63%. The median for North America is 6.91%, so United States sits below it. It peaked in 2010 and has fallen 56% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 20%. Its sharpest one-year move was up 120% in 2020. That is 9% below this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
World ranking. Slipped: 85th of 187 in 1991 → 138th of 187 in 2000 → 58th of 187 in 2010 → 69th of 187 in 2020 → 113th of 182 in 2025.
Key figures
Full history — 1991 to 2025
| Year | % of total labor force | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.2% | +0.2 pp |
| 2024 | 4.02% | +0.4 pp |
| 2023 | 3.64% | -0.0 pp |
| 2022 | 3.65% | -1.7 pp |
| 2021 | 5.35% | -2.7 pp |
| 2020 | 8.06% | +4.4 pp |
| 2019 | 3.67% | -0.2 pp |
| 2018 | 3.9% | -0.5 pp |
| 2017 | 4.36% | -0.5 pp |
| 2016 | 4.87% | -0.4 pp |
| 2015 | 5.28% | -0.9 pp |
| 2014 | 6.17% | -1.2 pp |
| 2013 | 7.38% | -0.7 pp |
| 2012 | 8.07% | -0.9 pp |
| 2011 | 8.95% | -0.7 pp |
| 2010 | 9.63% | +0.4 pp |
| 2009 | 9.25% | +3.5 pp |
| 2008 | 5.78% | +1.2 pp |
| 2007 | 4.62% | -0.0 pp |
| 2006 | 4.62% | -0.5 pp |
| 2005 | 5.08% | -0.4 pp |
| 2004 | 5.53% | -0.5 pp |
| 2003 | 5.99% | +0.2 pp |
| 2002 | 5.78% | +1.1 pp |
| 2001 | 4.73% | +0.7 pp |
| 2000 | 3.99% | -0.2 pp |
| 1999 | 4.22% | -0.3 pp |
| 1998 | 4.51% | -0.5 pp |
| 1997 | 5% | -0.5 pp |
| 1996 | 5.45% | -0.2 pp |
| 1995 | 5.65% | -0.5 pp |
| 1994 | 6.12% | -0.8 pp |
| 1993 | 6.9% | -0.6 pp |
| 1992 | 7.5% | +0.7 pp |
| 1991 | 6.8% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was United States’s Unemployment in 1992?
7.5% (1992). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in % of total labor force, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is United States’s Unemployment growing or shrinking?
Between 1991 and 2025 the series was shrinking overall: -38.3% in total — about 1.4% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2025: 4.2%; 2024: 4.02%; 2023: 3.64%; 2022: 3.65%; 2021: 5.35%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.