Unemployment rate

The share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one — the headline gauge of labor-market slack.

What it measures

Of everyone counted as being in the labor force, the percentage who did not work at all in the survey week, were available to work, and had actively looked for work in the previous four weeks.

How it is measured

The Current Population Survey: about 60,000 households interviewed every month by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted, so the usual January layoffs and summer hiring are taken out.

Reading it over a presidential term

It rises fast in recessions and falls slowly in recoveries, so a term average and a start-to-end change can tell different stories — a term that begins in a slump can post a large improvement and still average a high rate.

What it leaves out

This is the U-3 definition. Someone who gives up looking leaves the labor force and stops being counted as unemployed, which can pull the rate down for a discouraging reason; people working part time because they cannot find full-time work count as employed. It says nothing about pay, hours, or job quality.

Chart this series · See it by president · Download the data · The source at FRED