Unemployment in USA

USA - Unemployment
Labor market conditions improve marginally in January
Total non-farm payrolls increased a modest 49,000 in January, virtually meeting analysts’ expectations of a 50,000 increase. This follows December’s 227,000 fall in payrolls. Employment gains in professional and business services and education were somewhat offset by losses in leisure and hospitality, retail trade and health care.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in January from 6.7% in December, but the labor force participation rate also inched down to 61.4% from 61.5% the month prior. Hourly earnings increased 0.2% month-on-month in January (December: +1.0% mom), while annual wage growth was stable at 5.4%.
Commenting on January’s jobs report and the short-term outlook on the labor market, Katherine Judge, a senior economist at CIBC Economics, noted:
“Things are looking up for the US economy from here, as Covid cases are trending lower and there looks to be another round of fresh fiscal stimulus on the way, which presents an upside risk to our forecast as some states move to loosen restrictions on activity. While there are certainly downside risks from fast-spreading new variants of the virus, the US is in the top three countries in terms of vaccines administered per 100 people so far.”
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect the unemployment rate to average 6.2% in 2021, which is down 0.3 percentage points from last month’s estimate, and 5.1% in 2022.
United States - Unemployment Data
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unemployment Rate | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
United States Unemployment Chart

United States Facts
Value | Change | Date | |
---|---|---|---|
Bond Yield | 1.92 | -0.43 % | Dec 31 |
Exchange Rate | 1.12 | 0.65 % | Dec 31 |
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Economic News
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United States: Labor market conditions improve marginally in January
February 5, 2021
Total non-farm payrolls increased a modest 49,000 in January, virtually meeting analysts’ expectations of a 50,000 increase.
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United States: ISM manufacturing index dips but remains robust in January
February 1, 2021
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index ticked down to 58.7 in January from 60.5 in December, and missed market expectations of a 60.0 reading.
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United States: GDP growth slows significantly in the fourth quarter
January 28, 2021
The economy grew moderately in the fourth quarter, albeit at a more modest pace than in the previous quarter.
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United States: Fed keeps rates at effective floor in January and sustains commitment to expanding its balance sheet
January 27, 2021
At its 26–27 January meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to hold the target range for the federal funds rate at its effective floor of 0.00%–0.25%.
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United States: Labor market deteriorates in December for the first since April
January 8, 2021
Total non-farm payrolls fell 140,000 in December, and missed market analysts’ expectations of a 71,000 increase.