Unemployment rate,Percent in United States

United States: Unemployment rate,Percent was 4.3% in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
4.3%
Change on year
up 8.1%
World rank
49th
of 71 countries
All-time high
9.6%
in 2010
All-time low
3.6%
in 2023
Years of data
36
1990–2026

Unemployment rate,Percent in United States, 1990–2026

02468101990200820261990: 5.61991: 6.81992: 7.51993: 6.91994: 6.11995: 5.61996: 5.41997: 4.91998: 4.51999: 4.22000: 42001: 4.72002: 5.82003: 62004: 5.52005: 5.12006: 4.62007: 4.62008: 5.82009: 9.32010: 9.62011: 8.92012: 8.12013: 7.42014: 6.22015: 5.32016: 4.92017: 4.42018: 3.92019: 3.72020: 8.12021: 5.32022: 3.62023: 3.62024: 42026: 4.3

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

United States recorded 4.3% for unemployment rate,percent in 2026.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.1% on the previous year and down 10.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, unemployment rate,percent in United States peaked at 9.6% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 3.6%, in 2023.

That places United States 49th out of 71 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 5.8% 4.2% 7.5% 10
2000s 5.5% 4.0% 9.3% 10
2010s 6.2% 3.7% 9.6% 10
2020s 4.8% 3.6% 8.1% 6

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 46 Iceland 4.5% compare
  2. 47 Hungary 4.4% compare
  3. 48 Cyprus 4.4% compare
  4. 50 Australia 4.1% compare
  5. 51 Netherlands 4.1% compare
  6. 52 China 3.9% compare

See the full ranking of 80 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is unemployment rate,percent in United States?
Unemployment rate,percent in United States was 4.3% in 2026, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest unemployment rate,percent recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 9.6% in 2010.
What is the lowest unemployment rate,percent recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 3.6% in 2023.
How does United States rank for unemployment rate,percent?
United States ranks 49th out of 71 countries with data for 2026.
Is unemployment rate,percent rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Unemployment rate,Percent,,,. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Unemployment rate,Percent,,,
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
80 places, 2,196 data points, 1990–2026
Last refreshed