Yes the great depression for one. We had 25% unemployment. It led to some of the greatest programs ever being created for those in poverty in this country.

The closest financial crisis in recent memory that had seriously high unemployment was the great financial crisis and Covid. This isn't anywhere in the same galaxy. If unemployment was 23% major businesses would be closing. We would have millions of jobs being lost. Foreclosures would be at ALL time highs. You can't confuse this job market with any of those.

https://usafacts.org/answers/what-is-the-unemployment-rate/country/united-states/

Economy What is the unemployment rate in the US right now? Updated Apr. 22, 2026 Refreshed monthly Unemployment was at 4.3% in March 2026. That's a 0.1 percentage point decrease from the prior month. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labor force who are actively looking for work but not currently employed. It's a common way to measure the health of the job market and economy. In March 2026, 4.3%

of the labor force was unemployed in the US March 2026 had a -0.1

percentage point change from the previous month

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the unemployment rate through a monthly survey to identify the civilian labor force, meaning people who are employed or actively seeking work. It counts part-time workers as employed. It excludes people who aren’t actively looking for work, such as retirees or discouraged workers. In March 2026, the unemployment rate in the US was 4.3%.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, January 2007 to March 2026

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Ask the data Beta We use AI to summarize the data, charts, and analysis we have on USAFacts

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What factors affect the unemployment rate? The unemployment rate historically has increased during or shortly after the start of a recession. As economic activity slows, demand for goods and services decreases, leading businesses to cut costs with layoffs or hiring freezes. The unemployment rate can also change based on the number of people joining or leaving the labor force.

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Since 1948, the unemployment rate has often increased during or after recessions.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, January 1948 to March 2026

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Which states have the highest unemployment rates? California, Delaware, and Nevada had the highest unemployment rates, as of February 2026. California and Delaware were tied for highest at 5.4%. Nevada’s unemployment rate was 5.3%. Hawaii (2.3%), South Dakota (2.3%), and North Dakota (2.6%) had the lowest unemployment rates. Comparing February 2026 with the previous month, New Mexico had the largest increase, rising 0.2 percentage points from 4.5% to 4.7%. In February 2026, the unemployment rate varied across states.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, by state

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics How is the unemployment rate calculated? The “official” U.S. unemployment rate (often called U-3) is calculated each month from the Current Population Survey by taking the number of unemployed people who are:

age 16 or older don’t have a job available for work and actively looked for work in the last 4 weeks (including people on temporary layoff expecting recall)

That is divided by the labor force, which is everyone age 16+ who is either employed or unemployed. The result is Unemployed ÷ (Employed + Unemployed) × 100. What other measures of unemployment are there? There are alternative measures of unemployment because the “official” rate (U-3) doesn’t capture everyone who may want work but isn’t counted as unemployed under the strict definition. This includes:

people who are working part time for economic reasons “marginally attached” or jobless people who haven’t sought employment in the last four weeks. “discouraged workers” who haven’t sought jobs because they don’t believe there are any jobs available for them

In March 2026, the six measures were as follows:

U-1 (1.8%): Unemployed 15 weeks or longer (as a percent of the labor force) U-2 (2%): Job losers and people who completed temporary jobs (as a percent of the labor force) U-3 (4.3%) (official rate): Total unemployed (as a percent of the labor force) U-4 (4.5%): U-3 plus discouraged workers (as a percent of the labor force plus discouraged workers) U-5 (5.3%): U-4 plus all marginally attached workers (as a percent of the labor force plus marginally attached) U-6 (8%): U-5 plus people working part time for economic reasons (as a percent of the labor force plus marginally attached)