The Unemployed Persons indicator tracks the total number of individuals who are currently without work but are actively seeking employment and are available to start. This figure is a direct measure of labor market slack. A rising number of unemployed persons typically signals economic distress and can lead to lower consumer confidence.
Data is collected via national labor surveys where individuals are classified as unemployed if they did not work during the reference week but made efforts to find a job in the past four weeks.
| Date | Actual | Forecast | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | 311.40 | 302.00 | +9.40 |
| Aug 3, 2026 | 298.90 | 292.90 | +6.00 |
| Jul 1, 2026 | 295.50 | 298.00 | -2.50 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | 301.70 | 319.10 | -17.40 |
| May 4, 2026 | 320.30 | 320.00 | +0.30 |
| Apr 1, 2026 | 322.70 | 345.00 | -22.30 |
| Mar 2, 2026 | 357.50 | 368.00 | -10.50 |
| Feb 2, 2026 | 379.80 | 367.00 | +12.80 |
| Jan 2, 2026 | 363.00 | 349.00 | +14.00 |
| Dec 1, 2025 | 320.40 | 312.00 | +8.40 |
| Nov 3, 2025 | 310.50 | 306.00 | +4.50 |
| Oct 1, 2025 | 299.20 | 297.50 | +1.70 |
| Sep 1, 2025 | 301.40 | 291.00 | +10.40 |
| Aug 1, 2025 | 290.00 | 291.50 | -1.50 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | 288.50 | 289.50 | -1.00 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | 296.10 | 305.10 | -9.00 |
| May 2, 2025 | 311.80 | 310.50 | +1.30 |
| Apr 1, 2025 | 316.30 | 325.00 | -8.70 |
| Mar 3, 2025 | 347.40 | 349.00 | -1.60 |
| Feb 3, 2025 | 365.70 | 359.00 | +6.70 |
| Jan 2, 2025 | 352.90 | 307.00 | +45.90 |
| Dec 2, 2024 | 304.40 | 294.00 | +10.40 |
| Nov 4, 2024 | 293.30 | 278.00 | +15.30 |
| Oct 1, 2024 | 279.70 | 270000.00 | -269720.30 |
| Sep 2, 2024 | 287.50 | 276.00 | +11.50 |
| Aug 1, 2024 | 275.00 | 270.00 | +5.00 |
| Jul 1, 2024 | 264.00 | 269000.00 | -268736.00 |
| Jun 3, 2024 | 273.00 | 279.00 | -6.00 |
| May 2, 2024 | 287.60 | — | — |
| Apr 2, 2024 | 291.50 | 314.00 | -22.50 |
| Mar 1, 2024 | 321.70 | 328.00 | -6.30 |
| Feb 1, 2024 | 343.80 | 335.00 | +8.80 |
| Jan 2, 2024 | 329.30 | — | — |
| Dec 1, 2023 | 275.70 | 270.00 | +5.70 |
| Nov 2, 2023 | 264.20 | 255.00 | +9.20 |
| Oct 2, 2023 | 251.80 | — | — |
| Sep 1, 2023 | 261.30 | — | — |
| Aug 1, 2023 | 250.20 | — | — |
| Jul 3, 2023 | 239.30 | — | — |
| Jun 1, 2023 | 248.00 | — | — |
| May 2, 2023 | 258.70 | — | — |
| Apr 3, 2023 | 259.40 | — | — |
| Mar 1, 2023 | 294.10 | — | — |
| Feb 1, 2023 | 317.13 | — | — |
| Jan 2, 2023 | 309.70 | — | — |
| Dec 1, 2022 | 257.50 | — | — |
| Nov 2, 2022 | 249.30 | — | — |
