The unemployment rate in fiscal year 2023 dropped to 3.6 percent. Following a steady return to pre-pandemic employment levels in the U.S. economy. The unemployment rate of the United States which has been steadily decreasing since the 2008 financial crisis, spiked to 8.1 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual unemployment rate of the U.S. since 1990 can be found here.
Falling unemployment
The unemployment rate, or the part of the U.S. labor force that is without a job, fell again in 2022 after peaking at 8.1 percent in 2020 - a rate that has not been seen since the years following the 2008 financial crisis. The financial crash caused unemployment in the U.S. to soar from 4.6 percent in 2007 to 9.6 percent in 2010. Since 2010, the unemployment rate had been steadily falling, meaning that more and more people are finding work, whether that be through full-time employment or part-time employment. However, the affects of the COVID-19 pandemic created a spike in unemployment across the country.
U.S. unemployment in comparison
Compared to unemployment rates in the European Union, U.S. unemployment is relatively low. Greece was hit particularly hard by the 2008 financial crisis and faced a government debt crisis that sent the Greek economy into a tailspin. Due to this crisis, and the added impact of the pandemic, Greece still has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union.
Forecast of the unemployment rate in the United States for fiscal years 2023 to 2034
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US Congressional Budget Office. (February 7, 2024). Forecast of the unemployment rate in the United States for fiscal years 2023 to 2034 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 14, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/217029/forecast-to-the-unemployment-rate-in-the-united-states/
US Congressional Budget Office. "Forecast of the unemployment rate in the United States for fiscal years 2023 to 2034." Chart. February 7, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/217029/forecast-to-the-unemployment-rate-in-the-united-states/
US Congressional Budget Office. (2024). Forecast of the unemployment rate in the United States for fiscal years 2023 to 2034. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 14, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/217029/forecast-to-the-unemployment-rate-in-the-united-states/
US Congressional Budget Office. "Forecast of The Unemployment Rate in The United States for Fiscal Years 2023 to 2034." Statista, Statista Inc., 7 Feb 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/217029/forecast-to-the-unemployment-rate-in-the-united-states/
US Congressional Budget Office, Forecast of the unemployment rate in the United States for fiscal years 2023 to 2034 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/217029/forecast-to-the-unemployment-rate-in-the-united-states/ (last visited December 14, 2024)
Forecast of the unemployment rate in the United States for fiscal years 2023 to 2034 [Graph], US Congressional Budget Office, February 7, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/217029/forecast-to-the-unemployment-rate-in-the-united-states/