United States · data to Sep 2026
How are jobs?
Good.
Unemployment is 4.2%, below its 20-year average of 5.8%. Work is easier than usual to find.
For context: 4.2% is lower than 77% of all 944 figures since 1948.
Unemployment rate
Share of people who want work and can't find it, with the 20-year average
The strip under the chart shows the verdict each period would get by today's rules:Good Mixed Bad
See the latest numbers
| Period | Value | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 4.2% | Good |
| Aug 2026 | 4.1% | Good |
| Jul 2026 | 4.1% | Good |
| Jun 2026 | 4.2% | Good |
| May 2026 | 4.3% | Good |
| Apr 2026 | 4.3% | Good |
| Mar 2026 | 4.3% | Good |
| Feb 2026 | 4.4% | Good |
| Jan 2026 | 4.3% | Good |
| Dec 2025 | 4.4% | Good |
| Nov 2025 | 4.5% | Good |
| Sep 2025 | 4.4% | Good |
Source: BLS, Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted (Current Population Survey), via FRED · Series UNRATE · Latest Sep 2026
How we judged this
What we test: How far the latest figure sits above or below its 20-year average. Right now that's -1.6 pts.
- Good if under -0.50 ptsapplies now
- Mixed if from -0.50 pts to under +0.75 pts
- Bad if anything the rules above don’t cover
Rules are checked from the top. The first one that fits decides the verdict.
About this data
- Measure
- Unemployment rate
- Latest
- 4.2% (Sep 2026)
- Published
- Monthly, by BLS
- Verdict counts for
- Equal weight with the others in the overall verdict
Lower is better. We compare it with the long-run average because there is no official target for unemployment.