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Unemployment Level (UNEMPLOY)

Observations

Sep 2026: 7,109
Updated: Oct 2, 2026 8:24 AM CDT
Sep 2026:  7,109  
Aug 2026:  7,031  
Jul 2026:  6,916  
Jun 2026:  7,094  
May 2026:  7,307  

Units:

Thousands of Persons,
Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:

Monthly

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Notes

Title Release Dates
Unemployed 1961-02-09 1967-02-08
Unemployment Level 1967-02-09 2026-10-02
 
Source    
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 1961-02-09 2026-10-02
 
Release    
Employment Situation 1961-02-09 2026-10-02
 
Units    
Thousands of Persons 1961-02-09 2026-10-02
 
Frequency    
Monthly 1961-02-09 2026-10-02
 
Seasonal Adjustment    
Seasonally Adjusted 1961-02-09 2026-10-02
 
Notes    
Persons 14 years of age and older.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced several revisions to the Household Survey on Friday Feb.7th 2003, with the release of the January 2003 Data. They introduced the Census 2000 population controls (which affect data back to 2000 and cause a break in the data in January 2000), a new seasonal adjustment procedure, and new seasonal factors back to January 1998. For further information contact the Current Employment Statistics (CES) homepage at www.bls.gov/ces or by calling 202-691-6555.

1961-02-09 1967-02-08
The series comes from the 'Current Population Survey (Household Survey)'
The source code is: LNS13000000

The Unemployment Level is the aggregate measure of people currently unemployed in the US. Someone in the labor force is defined as unemployed if they were not employed during the survey reference week, were available for work, and made at least one active effort to find a job during the 4-week survey period.

The Unemployment Level is collected in the CPS and published by the BLS. It is provided on a monthly basis, so this data is used in part by macroeconomists as an initial economic indicator of current trends. The Unemployment Level helps government agencies, financial markets, and researchers gauge the overall health of the economy.

Note that individuals that are not employed but not actively looking for a job are not counted as unemployed. For instance, declines in the Unemployment Level may either reflect movements of unemployed individuals into the labor force because they found a job, or movements of unemployed individuals out of the labor force because they stopped looking to find a job.


For more information, see:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CES Overview (https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesprog.htm)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS Handbook of Methods: Chapter 2. Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Establishment Survey (https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/ces-20110307.pdf)

1967-02-09 2026-10-02

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Employment Situation
Employment Situation

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Monthly, Not Seasonally Adjusted

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Unemployment Level Current Population Survey (Household Survey) Population, Employment, & Labor Markets

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16 Years + Current Population Survey (Household Survey) Unemployment Seasonally Adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Nation Public Domain: Citation Requested United States of America