The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The collect, process, analyze and report the data on their website.
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Information you can find on unemployment figures includes:
- National Unemployment Rate (from the Current Population Survey: A monthly household survey provides comprehensive information on the employment and unemployment of the population classified by age, sex, race, and other characteristics.
- State and Local Unemployment Rates: Monthly estimates of employment and unemployment are available for all States, metropolitan areas, small labor market areas, counties, cities of 25,000 or more, all cities and towns in New England, and certain other areas.
- International Unemployment Rates: Monthly estimates of unemployment rates for 10 countries, approximating U.S. concepts, are available on a seasonally adjusted basis.
- Mass Layoff Statistics: BLS publishes monthly reports on all mass layoffs and quarterly reports on layoffs lasting more than 30 days. These reports identify, describe, and track the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each State’s unemployment insurance database supplemented with employer-provided data.
- Unemployment Research: The Employment Research staff initiates, plans, and directs activities for improving the quality and enhancing the analytical usefulness of BLS employment and unemployment statistics.
Have questions? The Bureau has answers.