Unemployment rate history · 2025
Unemployment Rate in 2025
In 2025, the US unemployment rate averaged 4.20% of the labor force — the 29th-highest of the 35 years on record. Here's where that sits in 35 years on record, the story behind it, that year's Misery Index, and how it compares with the 4.2% of 2025.
- 2025 unemployment 4.20% of the labor force
- vs prior year +0.18 pts from 4.02% in 2024
- vs today 4.2% in 2025
- 1991–2025 average 5.68% long-run norm
The Misery Index in 2025
The Misery Index — a simple gauge coined by economist Arthur Okun — adds the unemployment rate to the inflation rate, on the idea that both eat into household wellbeing at the same time. The higher the sum, the more economic pain a typical household feels. Here's how 2025 stacks up:
So in 2025, a 4.20% jobless rate sat alongside 2.63% inflation, for a combined Misery Index of about 6.8. For the other half of that figure — what consumer prices did and what 2025's money is worth today — see historical inflation rates.
What happened to jobs in 2025
In 2025, the unemployment rate ran at 4.20%, up from 4.02% in 2024. That made it the 29th-highest of the 35 years on record, and below the long-run average of 5.68%. For comparison, unemployment sits at about 4.2% today — a gap of 0.00 points.
How 2025 compared
Across the full 1991–2025 record, unemployment has averaged about 5.68%, so 2025 ran below that long-run norm. Within the 2020s, the jobless rate averaged roughly 4.82%, and 2025 sat below its own decade. Five years earlier, in 2020, the rate was 8.05%.
The labor market and borrowing costs move together: a weak jobs market often pushes the Fed to cut rates, while a hot one invites hikes. See what mortgage rates did in 2025 for another angle on the same economy.
This is one year out of the whole story. For the complete history — every year since 1991, the all-time high and the record low, the decade-by-decade view, and what drives unemployment over time — see historical unemployment rates, 1991–today.
Unemployment in 2025 — FAQ
What was the unemployment rate in 2025?
The US unemployment rate averaged 4.20% of the labor force in 2025. That was up 0.18 points from 4.02% the year before.
Was unemployment high or low in 2025?
Measured against the full 1991–2025 record, 2025's 4.20% was the 29th-highest of the 35 years on record, and below the long-run average of 5.68%.
What was the Misery Index in 2025?
The Misery Index — unemployment plus inflation — was about 6.83 in 2025, combining a 4.20% jobless rate with 2.63% inflation.
How does 2025 unemployment compare with today?
In 2025, unemployment averaged 4.20%, versus 4.2% in 2025 — a difference of 0.00 points. The long-run (1991–2025) average is 5.68%.
Data: World Bank, World Development Indicators (ILO modeled estimate), via APIVerve. Our tables, charts and text are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: share and adapt them for non-commercial use as long as you credit us. For commercial use or bulk data, use the APIVerve API. See the data terms. Cite as: Digest Your Finances, “US Unemployment Rate by Year”, https://digestyourfinances.com/studies/historical-unemployment-rate/2025/ — based on World Bank, World Development Indicators (ILO modeled estimate). CC BY-NC 4.0.
