Monthly unemployment rate U.S. 2024

The seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate is measured on a monthly basis in the United States. In October 2024, the national unemployment rate was at 4.1 percent. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method of removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends.

U.S. monthly unemployment rate

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - the principle fact-finding agency for the U.S. Federal Government in labor economics and statistics - unemployment decreased dramatically between 2010 and 2019. This trend of decreasing unemployment followed after a high in 2010 resulting from the 2008 financial crisis. However, after a smaller financial crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment reached 8.1 percent in 2020. As the economy recovered, the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 in 2021, and fell even further in 2022.

Additional statistics from the BLS paint an interesting picture of unemployment in the United States. In November 2023, the states with the highest (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate were the Nevada and the District of Columbia. Unemployment was the lowest in Maryland, at 1.8 percent. Workers in the agricultural and related industries suffered the highest unemployment rate of any industry at seven percent in December 2023.

Monthly unemployment rate in the United States from October 2022 to October 2024 (seasonally-adjusted)

Characteristic	Unemployment rate
Oct '24	4.1%
Sep '24	4.1%
Aug '24	4.2%
Jul '24	4.3%
Jun '24	4.1%
May '24	4%
Apr '24	3.9%
Mar '24	3.8%
Feb '24	3.9%
Jan '24	3.7%
Dec '23	3.7%
Nov '23	3.7%
Oct '23	3.8%
Sep '23	3.8%
Aug '23	3.8%
Jul '23	3.5%
Jun '23	3.6%
May '23	3.7%
Apr '23	3.4%
Mar '23	3.5%
Feb '23	3.6%
Jan '23	3.4%
Dec '22	3.5%
Nov '22	3.6%
Oct '22	3.7%

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Release date

November 2024

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

October 2022 to October 2024

Age group

16 years and older

Supplementary notes

Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method used to remove the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends. It is normal to report un-adjusted data for current unemployment rates, as these reflect the actual current situation. Seasonally-adjusted data may be used for the longer term comparison. Unlike trend and cyclical components, seasonal components, theoretically, happen with similar magnitude during the same time period each year. The seasonal component of a series is often considered to be uninteresting in its own right and may cause the interpretation of a series to be ambiguous. By removing the seasonal component, it is easier to focus on other components.

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