The Economy & the Fed

Unemployment Rate

The share of people in the labor force who do not have a job but are available and have looked for one in the past four weeks. It comes from a monthly survey of about 60,000 households. The official measure, called U-3, leaves out people who have given up looking, so the Bureau of Labor Statistics also publishes U-6, a broader rate that adds discouraged workers and people working part time who want full-time work. U-6 always runs higher. The unemployment rate is a lagging indicator: it tends to rise after a slowdown has begun.

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