Labor
Unemployment Rate
The share of the labor force that is unemployed and actively looking for work, from the monthly household survey.
Next Unemployment release
8:30 a.m. ETin 27 days
Data for October 2026
Published in the same BLS Employment Situation release as Nonfarm Payrolls.
After that
Source: BLS Employment Situation schedule ↗ · checked Oct 10, 2026. Agencies can reschedule; confirm before trading.
- Released by
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
- Frequency
- Monthly (part of the Employment Situation report)
- Release time
- 8:30 a.m. ET
- Typical timing
- Same release as nonfarm payrolls, usually the first Friday of the month Official schedule ↗
What Unemployment measures
The unemployment rate (officially U-3) is the number of unemployed people actively seeking work as a percentage of the labor force. It comes from the Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of households conducted for the BLS by the Census Bureau.
Broader measures such as U-6 add discouraged workers, other marginally attached workers and people working part time for economic reasons.
Why traders watch it
The unemployment rate is a direct gauge of labor-market slack, and the Fed's projections include an explicit path for it. Rapid increases have historically been associated with recessions.
Because it comes from a different survey than payrolls, the two can send conflicting signals in a given month.
What to look at in the release
| U-3 rate | Headline unemployment rate |
| U-6 rate | Broad underutilization |
| Participation rate | Share of the population in the labor force |
How markets tend to interpret it
Relative to consensus expectations — not the absolute level.
Stronger / hotter than expected
A lower-than-expected rate signals a tight labor market, which can support expectations of firmer policy.
Weaker / cooler than expected
A higher-than-expected rate signals more slack and can raise expectations of easier policy, while also increasing recession concern.
Context matters. Small monthly moves are within the survey's margin of error. Traders often look at the trend and at participation before drawing conclusions.
Historical data
% · last 10 years
Show recent data
| Date | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | 4.2 |
| Aug 1, 2026 | 4.1 |
| Jul 1, 2026 | 4.1 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | 4.2 |
| May 1, 2026 | 4.3 |
| Apr 1, 2026 | 4.3 |
| Mar 1, 2026 | 4.3 |
| Feb 1, 2026 | 4.4 |
| Jan 1, 2026 | 4.3 |
| Dec 1, 2025 | 4.4 |
| Nov 1, 2025 | 4.5 |
| Sep 1, 2025 | 4.4 |
Markets that watch Unemployment
Each note explains the channel for that market; reactions are tendencies, not rules.
| Market | Why it can matter |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 | A rising unemployment rate is one of the clearer recession warnings — a half-point rise in its 3-month average from the prior year's low (the Sahm rule) has historically come early in recessions — so equity investors watch it for earnings risk. |
Unemployment FAQ
What is the difference between U-3 and U-6?
U-3 counts people without a job who are actively looking for work. U-6 adds people who want work but have stopped searching, plus part-time workers who want full-time hours, giving a broader measure of labor underutilization.
Why can payrolls rise while unemployment rises?
Payrolls and the unemployment rate come from different surveys. Unemployment can rise if the labor force grows faster than employment, even while businesses add jobs.