The unemployment rate is a key statistic that the federal government collects each month. It shows how many people are jobless and looking for work, and it’s a good way to gauge the health of the economy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses a monthly survey to calculate the unemployment rate, which measures the percentage of the civilian labor force that is unemployed. The survey includes people who are either employed or actively seeking employment, which excludes those who have dropped out of the workforce, such as students and homemakers. The unemployment rate also doesn’t include those who are retired or out of school, as well as those who have stopped looking for work because they believe there are no jobs available.
In addition to measuring joblessness, the monthly unemployment report provides a number of other important data, including the average weekly earnings of all employees and the yearly change in payrolls. The BLS releases the full report each month, and it’s available on its website. The unemployment rate is published in a monthly news release titled The Employment Situation, and it’s also included in a wide range of other economic data reports.
There are several different ways to measure the jobless, and the BLS publishes three other unemployment rates: U-4, U-5, and U-6. The differences between the rates are subtle, but they can be significant. For example, the U-6 rate adds those who are working part time but would prefer full-time work and those who are “marginally attached to the labor force.” The U-4 includes only those who are technically unemployed.