Unemployment in the United States

Unemployment in the United States
RCraig09 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	United States unemployment
Currency	United States dollar

Contents

Unemployment in the United States is the incidence of joblessness among the civilian labor force in the United States of America, tracked through official surveys and administrative records by agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, analyzed by institutions like the Federal Reserve System and debated within settings including the United States Congress and the White House. Measurement and interpretation of unemployment are central to policymaking by actors such as the Department of Labor (United States), economists at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and think tanks like the Brookings Institution, and shape outcomes for stakeholders including the National Federation of Independent Business and labor organizations such as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Overview and Definitions

Official definitions derive from surveys and statutes administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, drawing on standards set by the International Labour Organization and statistical practices taught at universities including University of Chicago and Columbia University. Common measures include the headline unemployment rate used by the Federal Reserve System, alternative indicators promoted by researchers at Princeton University and Stanford University, and broader labor-market metrics debated in reports by the Congressional Budget Office and the OECD. Legal definitions affect programs administered under laws such as the Social Security Act and unemployment insurance systems run by state labor departments like the California Employment Development Department and the New York State Department of Labor.

Long-run trends reflect episodes such as the Great Depression, the postwar expansion associated with the G.I. Bill, the stagflation era tied to the 1973 oil crisis and policy shifts after the Reagan administration, the recession following the Dot-com bubble and the financial shock of the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Recoveries and labor-market dynamics were analyzed by economists at Yale University, influenced by central banking at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and fiscal responses debated in the United States Senate and implemented by administrations like the Barack Obama and Donald Trump presidencies. Trends are also compared across international episodes such as the Great Recession and episodes studied at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Primary data come from the Current Population Survey and the Current Employment Statistics program, operated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and used by the Federal Reserve Board and researchers at University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley. Statistics include the headline U-3 rate, alternative U-6 measure, labor force participation reported for demographic groups tracked by the United States Census Bureau and longitudinal data sets used by scholars at Northwestern University and Duke University. Administrative claims for benefits appear in datasets from state agencies and are monitored in analysis by the Council of Economic Advisers and independent centers like the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Causes span cyclical shocks such as recessions triggered by events like the COVID-19 pandemic and structural changes including technological automation examined by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, globalization tied to trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement, and shifts in industrial composition documented in studies from Princeton University and London School of Economics. Policy, regulation, and institutional factors—debated in forums such as the Supreme Court of the United States and legislatures—interact with corporate decisions by firms including General Motors, Amazon (company), and Walmart and collective actions by unions such as the United Auto Workers.

Unemployment rates vary across groups identified by statisticians at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and analysts at civil-rights organizations like the NAACP, with disparities observed among cohorts studied at Howard University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College, and across regions such as the Rust Belt, the Sun Belt, and metropolitan areas like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Differences are documented for populations served by programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and education institutions including the City University of New York, with scholarship from scholars at University of Texas at Austin and University of Florida highlighting interactions between demographics, migration flows, and state policy regimes exemplified by legislatures in California, Texas, and Florida.

High unemployment episodes have macroeconomic consequences evaluated by the Federal Reserve Board and the International Monetary Fund, influence fiscal outcomes considered by the Congressional Budget Office, and produce social effects studied by public-health researchers at Johns Hopkins University and sociologists at University of Pennsylvania. Impacts extend to households with programs administered under laws like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and to communities served by nonprofits such as the United Way, affecting crime and health outcomes explored in research at Princeton University and Yale University.

Responses include monetary policy enacted by the Federal Reserve System, fiscal stimulus passed by the United States Congress and signed by presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, unemployment insurance expansions administered by state agencies like the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, training programs run by institutions such as the Job Corps and community colleges like Miami Dade College, and labor-market reforms debated at the National Labor Relations Board and in federal courts. Academic centers including the Brookings Institution and Economic Policy Institute evaluate the efficacy of policies ranging from active labor-market programs funded through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to tax incentives implemented during crises like the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Category:Labor in the United States