The unemployment rate represents the number unemployed as a percent of the labor force. Unemployed are identified as people who are jobless, those looking for jobs, and those who are available for work. Unemployment insurance records, which many people think are the source of total unemployment data, relate only to persons who have applied for such benefits, and since it is impractical to actually count every unemployed person each month, the Government conducts a monthly sample survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of unemployment in the country.

Data has been provided by Bureau of Labor Statistics.