The annual-average U.S. unemployment rate was 4.3% in 2025, according to the latest figure displayed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In the BLS annual table for 1954–2023, the highest rate was 9.7% in 1982, and the lowest was 3.5% in 1969. The table below gives each annual average from 1954 through 2023; the 2025 figure is reported separately because it is not included in that table.
U.S. unemployment rate by year
These figures are annual averages for people age 16 and over, drawn from BLS Table 1. Annual averages are not the same as a rate for a particular month. BLS notes that annual averages are available for unadjusted, or not seasonally adjusted, data.
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| Year | Unemployment rate | Year | Unemployment rate | Year | Unemployment rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 5.5% | 1965 | 4.5% | 1976 | 7.7% |
| 1955 | 4.4% | 1966 | 3.8% | 1977 | 7.1% |
| 1956 | 4.1% | 1967 | 3.8% | 1978 | 6.1% |
| 1957 | 4.3% | 1968 | 3.6% | 1979 | 5.8% |
| 1958 | 6.8% | 1969 | 3.5% | 1980 | 7.1% |
| 1959 | 5.5% | 1970 | 4.9% | 1981 | 7.6% |
| 1960 | 5.5% | 1971 | 5.9% | 1982 | 9.7% |
| 1961 | 6.7% | 1972 | 5.6% | 1983 | 9.6% |
| 1962 | 5.5% | 1973 | 4.9% | 1984 | 7.5% |
| 1963 | 5.7% | 1974 | 5.6% | 1985 | 7.2% |
| 1964 | 5.2% | 1975 | 8.5% | 1986 | 7.0% |
| 1987 | 6.2% | 1999 | 4.2% | 2011 | 8.9% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | 2000 | 4.0% | 2012 | 8.1% |
| 1989 | 5.3% | 2001 | 4.7% | 2013 | 7.4% |
| 1990 | 5.6% | 2002 | 5.8% | 2014 | 6.2% |
| 1991 | 6.8% | 2003 | 6.0% | 2015 | 5.3% |
| 1992 | 7.5% | 2004 | 5.5% | 2016 | 4.9% |
| 1993 | 6.9% | 2005 | 5.1% | 2017 | 4.4% |
| 1994 | 6.1% | 2006 | 4.6% | 2018 | 3.9% |
| 1995 | 5.6% | 2007 | 4.6% | 2019 | 3.7% |
| 1996 | 5.4% | 2008 | 5.8% | 2020 | 8.1% |
| 1997 | 4.9% | 2009 | 9.3% | 2021 | 5.3% |
| 1998 | 4.5% | 2010 | 9.6% | 2022 | 3.6% |
| 2023 | 3.6% |
The BLS CPS landing page separately reports a 4.3% annual unemployment rate for 2025. See the BLS Current Population Survey page for that latest displayed figure.
What the annual figures show
- Highest in the table: 9.7% in 1982, followed by 9.6% in 2010 and 9.3% in 2009.
- Lowest in the table: 3.5% in 1969. The late 1990s and 2000 also had relatively low annual rates, including 4.0% in 2000.
- Pandemic-era change: The annual average rose to 8.1% in 2020, then fell to 5.3% in 2021 and 3.6% in both 2022 and 2023.
These are yearly averages, so they smooth over changes during the year. A year’s average does not show the highest or lowest monthly rate, and should not be read as a single month’s result.
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What the unemployment rate measures
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the civilian labor force, as measured by the Current Population Survey (CPS), the official household survey. It is not the share of the entire population without a job: people who are neither employed nor counted in the labor force are not part of the rate’s denominator.
How far back the official annual series goes
The CPS began in 1940, and BLS provides annual unemployment data from that year forward. BLS describes 1929–1939 as a separate estimate series; those historical estimates are not CPS observations. The agency says it has no official statistics before 1929. The annual table presented above begins later, in 1954, and covers people age 16 and over. See BLS’s historical background on the CPS for the series’ scope and limitations.
Comparisons across the earliest periods need care: the population definition was age 14 and over before 1948 and age 16 and over afterward. The reconstructed 1929–1939 estimates also should not be treated as perfectly continuous with CPS results.
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BLS warns that population controls, seasonal-adjustment reestimation, and revisions can affect comparability, particularly for recent years. The annual averages in the table are unadjusted, while monthly unemployment rates are often reported on a seasonally adjusted basis; comparing the two without accounting for that distinction can mislead. Consult the BLS CPS data and its historical notes when a precise comparison across releases or periods matters.
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