Unemployment Rate Calculator
Enter the number of employed and unemployed people and either the adult population or the number not in the labor force. The calculator returns the official unemployment rate (U-3), the labor force participation rate and the employment-population ratio, with the working shown and an option to compare two periods. Free, no sign-up.
Your labor-market counts
Employed and unemployed follow the BLS definitions, so do not count people who are not looking for work as unemployed. Use any one unit for every count.
Results
3.66%
Unemployment rate (U-3)
62.6%
Labor force participation rate
60.31%
Employment-population ratio
All the measures
| Measure | Your figures |
|---|---|
| Employed | 158 |
| Unemployed | 6 |
| Labor force | 164 |
| Not in the labor force | 98 |
| Population aged 16 and over | 262 |
| Unemployment rate (U-3) | 3.66% |
| Labor force participation rate | 62.6% |
| Employment-population ratio | 60.31% |
Counts are in millions.
Working: Your figures
Labor force = employed + unemployed = 158 + 6 = 164
Not in the labor force = population − labor force = 262 − 164 = 98
Unemployment rate = unemployed ÷ labor force = 6 ÷ 164 = 3.66%
Labor force participation rate = labor force ÷ population = 164 ÷ 262 = 62.6%
Employment-population ratio = employed ÷ population = 158 ÷ 262 = 60.31%
Show the graph data as a table
| Period | Employed | Unemployed | Not in the labor force |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your figures | 158 | 6 | 98 |
The unemployment rate counts only people who are actively looking for work, so it can rise when more people start looking, even if employment is also rising.
BLS definitions: a person is unemployed if they had no job in the survey week, were available for work and had looked for work in the past four weeks (or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff). The labor force counts the employed and unemployed only; everyone else aged 16 and over is not in the labor force. U-3 is the official rate. Broader rates, U-4 to U-6, add discouraged, marginally attached and involuntary part-time workers.
How to Use the Unemployment Rate Calculator
- 1. Say what you know about the rest of the population. Choose whether you have the civilian noninstitutional population aged 16 and over, or the number of people not in the labor force. The calculator finds the other one.
- 2. Enter the counts. Type the number employed, the number unemployed and the third quantity. Use one unit throughout (people, thousands or millions); the rates do not depend on the unit.
- 3. Compare two periods if you like. Tick the comparison box to add a later period and see the change in each rate in percentage points.
- 4. Read the three rates. The unemployment rate, the participation rate and the employment-population ratio appear with every division written out, plus a stacked bar showing how the adult population splits.
The Definitions
The definitions below are those of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the Current Population Survey, a monthly household survey, and they are the ones used in OpenStax Principles of Macroeconomics. Everyone aged 16 and over in the civilian noninstitutional population falls into exactly one of three groups.
- Employed: worked at least one hour for pay or profit in the survey week, or was temporarily absent from a job. Each person counts once, however many jobs they hold.
- Unemployed: had no job in the survey week, was available for work, and had actively looked for work in the previous four weeks, or was on temporary layoff and expecting to be recalled. Receiving unemployment insurance is not part of the test.
- Not in the labor force: everyone else, including students, retirees, caregivers and discouraged workers who have stopped searching.
The three rates
Labor force
Employed + Unemployed
Unemployment rate (U-3)
Unemployed ÷ Labor force × 100
Labor force participation rate
Labor force ÷ Population aged 16 and over × 100
Employment-population ratio
Employed ÷ Population aged 16 and over × 100
Worked Example: Two Periods
The calculator opens with figures in millions. In the earlier period 158 are employed, 6 are unemployed and the population is 262. In the later period 159.5 are employed, 7.5 are unemployed and the population is 263.
| Measure | Earlier period | Later period | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor force | 164 | 167 | +3 |
| Not in the labor force | 98 | 96 | −2 |
| Unemployment rate (U-3) | 6 ÷ 164 = 3.66% | 7.5 ÷ 167 = 4.49% | +0.83 points |
| Participation rate | 164 ÷ 262 = 62.6% | 167 ÷ 263 = 63.5% | +0.9 points |
| Employment-population ratio | 158 ÷ 262 = 60.31% | 159.5 ÷ 263 = 60.65% | +0.34 points |
Employment rose by 1.5 million, yet the unemployment rate went up. The labor force grew by 3 million, 1 million from population growth and 2 million from people who entered it from outside. Only half of that growth (1.5 million) ended up in jobs; the other half is counted as unemployed. This is why economists read the unemployment rate together with the participation rate and the employment-population ratio, which in the example both improved.
Why U-3 Is Not the Whole Story
The BLS publishes six measures of labor underutilization, U-1 to U-6. U-3 is the official unemployment rate. U-4 adds discouraged workers, U-5 adds all marginally attached workers (people who want a job and have looked in the past year but not in the past four weeks), and U-6 also adds people working part time because they could not find full-time work. The broader measures add those people to both the numerator and the denominator, so they are always at least as high as U-3. This calculator computes U-3 only, because the other measures need counts that the survey publishes separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you calculate the unemployment rate?
- Divide the number of unemployed people by the labor force (employed plus unemployed) and multiply by 100. With 6 million unemployed and 158 million employed, the labor force is 164 million and the rate is 6 ÷ 164 = 3.66%.
- Is the unemployment rate calculated from the whole population?
- No. The denominator is the labor force, not the population. People who are not working and not looking for work, such as students and retirees, are outside the labor force and are not counted as unemployed.
- What is the labor force participation rate?
- It is the share of the civilian noninstitutional population aged 16 and over that is in the labor force, that is, either working or actively looking for work: labor force ÷ population × 100. A falling participation rate can lower the unemployment rate without any new jobs, if people give up searching.
- What is the employment-population ratio?
- It is employed ÷ population aged 16 and over × 100. Because it counts only the employed in the numerator and ignores who is looking for work, it is not affected by people entering or leaving the labor force, which makes it a steady indicator of how many adults are working.
- What does U-3 mean?
- U-3 is the BLS name for the official unemployment rate, the unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force. It sits between the narrower U-1 and U-2 and the broader U-4, U-5 and U-6 measures.
- Who counts as unemployed?
- Someone without a job who is available to work and has actively searched for work during the previous four weeks, or who is on temporary layoff awaiting recall. Someone who wants a job but has not searched recently is not counted as unemployed; the BLS classes them as outside the labor force, and possibly as marginally attached or discouraged.
- How high has the U.S. unemployment rate been?
- In the BLS series the rate reached 10.0% in October 2009 after the financial crisis and 14.8% in April 2020 during the pandemic, the highest since the series began in 1948. Compare any figure you calculate with the same measure for the same population and survey definition.