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Vol. I, No. 13 Afternoon Edition

The Fed Gazette

A civic journal of money and credit

Live Federal Reserve rates, FOMC decisions, speeches, and Treasury data, with every figure copied from the agency that published it.

Jobs and the labor market

Unemployment Rate Today: Chart and Latest BLS Data

The unemployment rate was 4.20% for September 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via GOVSPENDING.ORG.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Situation), via GOVSPENDING.ORG, UNRATE, Unemployment rate, percent, monthly · Published · Updated

The monthly U.S. unemployment rate, with a chart back to 1948, what changed since last month and a year earlier, and a plain explanation. The figure is copied as published. This paper does not compute a change or a forecast.

  • Unemployment rate 4.20% September 2026 Higher than the previous print

Unemployment Rate chart

Unemployment rate over time

Monthly unemployment rate, in percent, seasonally adjusted. Each point is a stored monthly print.

4.1%4.2%4.3%4.4%4.5%Oct ’25Jan ’26Apr ’26Jul ’264.1%4.2%4.3%4.4%4.5%Oct ’25Jan ’26Apr ’26Jul ’264.1%4.2%4.3%4.4%4.5%Oct ’25Jan ’26Apr ’26Jul ’264.1%4.2%4.3%4.4%4.5%Oct ’25Jan ’26Apr ’26Jul ’26
3.0%3.5%4.0%4.5%5.0%202220232024202520263.0%3.5%4.0%4.5%5.0%202220232024202520263.0%3.5%4.0%4.5%5.0%202220232024202520263.0%3.5%4.0%4.5%5.0%20222023202420252026
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%201820202022202420260.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%201820202022202420260.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%201820202022202420260.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20182020202220242026
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%1950196519801995201020250.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%195019601970198019902000201020200.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%195019601970198019902000201020200.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%1950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025
  • Unemployment rate 4.20% Sep 1, 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Situation), via GOVSPENDING.ORG, UNRATE, Unemployment rate, percent, monthly · as of · retrieved

More series in the data library
Data
Unemployment rate over time, the last print of each calendar quarter (a sample of the plotted line)
PeriodUnemployment rate
March 19484.00%
June 19483.60%
September 19483.80%
December 19484.00%
March 19495.00%
June 19496.20%
September 19496.60%
December 19496.60%
March 19506.30%
June 19505.40%
September 19504.40%
December 19504.30%
March 19513.40%
June 19513.20%
September 19513.30%
December 19513.10%
March 19522.90%
June 19523.00%
September 19523.10%
December 19522.70%
March 19532.60%
June 19532.50%
September 19532.90%
December 19534.50%
March 19545.70%
June 19545.60%
September 19546.10%
December 19545.00%
March 19554.60%
June 19554.20%
September 19554.10%
December 19554.20%
March 19564.20%
June 19564.30%
September 19563.90%
December 19564.20%
March 19573.70%
June 19574.30%
September 19574.40%
December 19575.20%
March 19586.70%
June 19587.30%
September 19587.10%
December 19586.20%
March 19595.60%
June 19595.00%
September 19595.50%
December 19595.30%
March 19605.40%
June 19605.40%
September 19605.50%
December 19606.60%
March 19616.90%
June 19616.90%
September 19616.70%
December 19616.00%
March 19625.60%
June 19625.50%
September 19625.60%
December 19625.50%
March 19635.70%
June 19635.60%
September 19635.50%
December 19635.50%
March 19645.40%
June 19645.20%
September 19645.10%
December 19645.00%
March 19654.70%
June 19654.60%
September 19654.30%
December 19654.00%
March 19663.80%
June 19663.80%
September 19663.70%
December 19663.80%
March 19673.80%
June 19673.90%
September 19673.80%
December 19673.80%
March 19683.70%
June 19683.70%
September 19683.40%
December 19683.40%
March 19693.40%
June 19693.50%
September 19693.70%
December 19693.50%
March 19704.40%
June 19704.90%
September 19705.40%
December 19706.10%
March 19716.00%
June 19715.90%
September 19716.00%
December 19716.00%
March 19725.80%
June 19725.70%
September 19725.50%
December 19725.20%
March 19734.90%
June 19734.90%
September 19734.80%
December 19734.90%
March 19745.10%
June 19745.40%
September 19745.90%
December 19747.20%
March 19758.60%
June 19758.80%
September 19758.40%
December 19758.20%
March 19767.60%
June 19767.60%
September 19767.60%
December 19767.80%
March 19777.40%
June 19777.20%
September 19776.80%
December 19776.40%
March 19786.30%
June 19785.90%
September 19786.00%
December 19786.00%
March 19795.80%
June 19795.70%
September 19795.90%
December 19796.00%
March 19806.30%
June 19807.60%
September 19807.50%
December 19807.20%
March 19817.40%
June 19817.50%
September 19817.60%
December 19818.50%
March 19829.00%
June 19829.60%
September 198210.10%
December 198210.80%
March 198310.30%
June 198310.10%
September 19839.20%
December 19838.30%
March 19847.80%
June 19847.20%
September 19847.30%
December 19847.30%
March 19857.20%
June 19857.40%
September 19857.10%
December 19857.00%
March 19867.20%
June 19867.20%
September 19867.00%
December 19866.60%
March 19876.60%
June 19876.20%
September 19875.90%
December 19875.70%
March 19885.70%
June 19885.40%
September 19885.40%
December 19885.30%
March 19895.00%
June 19895.30%
September 19895.30%
December 19895.40%
March 19905.20%
June 19905.20%
September 19905.90%
December 19906.30%
March 19916.80%
June 19916.90%
September 19916.90%
December 19917.30%
March 19927.40%
June 19927.80%
September 19927.60%
December 19927.40%
March 19937.00%
June 19937.00%
September 19936.70%
December 19936.50%
March 19946.50%
June 19946.10%
September 19945.90%
December 19945.50%
March 19955.40%
June 19955.60%
September 19955.60%
December 19955.60%
March 19965.50%
June 19965.30%
September 19965.20%
December 19965.40%
March 19975.20%
June 19975.00%
September 19974.90%
December 19974.70%
March 19984.70%
June 19984.50%
September 19984.60%
December 19984.40%
March 19994.20%
June 19994.30%
September 19994.20%
December 19994.00%
March 20004.00%
June 20004.00%
September 20003.90%
December 20003.90%
March 20014.30%
June 20014.50%
September 20015.00%
December 20015.70%
March 20025.70%
June 20025.80%
September 20025.70%
December 20026.00%
March 20035.90%
June 20036.30%
September 20036.10%
December 20035.70%
March 20045.80%
June 20045.60%
September 20045.40%
December 20045.40%
March 20055.20%
June 20055.00%
September 20055.00%
December 20054.90%
March 20064.70%
June 20064.60%
September 20064.50%
December 20064.40%
March 20074.40%
June 20074.60%
September 20074.70%
December 20075.00%
March 20085.10%
June 20085.60%
September 20086.10%
December 20087.30%
March 20098.70%
June 20099.50%
September 20099.80%
December 20099.90%
March 20109.90%
June 20109.40%
September 20109.50%
December 20109.30%
March 20119.00%
June 20119.10%
September 20119.00%
December 20118.50%
March 20128.20%
June 20128.20%
September 20127.80%
December 20127.90%
March 20137.50%
June 20137.50%
September 20137.20%
December 20136.70%
March 20146.70%
June 20146.10%
September 20145.90%
December 20145.60%
March 20155.40%
June 20155.30%
September 20155.00%
December 20155.00%
March 20165.00%
June 20164.90%
September 20165.00%
December 20164.70%
March 20174.40%
June 20174.30%
September 20174.30%
December 20174.10%
March 20184.00%
June 20184.00%
September 20183.70%
December 20183.90%
March 20193.80%
June 20193.60%
September 20193.50%
December 20193.60%
March 20204.40%
June 202011.00%
September 20207.80%
December 20206.70%
March 20216.10%
June 20215.90%
September 20214.70%
December 20213.90%
March 20223.70%
June 20223.60%
September 20223.50%
December 20223.50%
March 20233.50%
June 20233.60%
September 20233.70%
December 20233.80%
March 20243.90%
June 20244.10%
September 20244.10%
December 20244.10%
March 20254.20%
June 20254.10%
September 20254.40%
December 20254.40%
March 20264.30%
June 20264.20%
September 20264.20%
Cite this

Cite the agency first. This paper is the place you read the figure, as of September 2026.

  • APA U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Situation), via GOVSPENDING.ORG. (2026, September 1). UNRATE, Unemployment rate, percent, monthly [Data set]. https://govspending.org/series/UNRATE/ Retrieved October 6, 2026, via The Fed Gazette, https://fedgazette.com/unemployment-rate/#chart-unemployment-rate-0
  • MLA U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Situation), via GOVSPENDING.ORG. “UNRATE, Unemployment rate, percent, monthly.” UNRATE, Unemployment rate, percent, monthly, data as of 1 Sept. 2026, https://govspending.org/series/UNRATE/. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026 via The Fed Gazette, https://fedgazette.com/unemployment-rate/#chart-unemployment-rate-0.
  • Chicago U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Situation), via GOVSPENDING.ORG. “UNRATE, Unemployment rate, percent, monthly.” Data as of September 1, 2026. https://govspending.org/series/UNRATE/. Retrieved October 6, 2026 via The Fed Gazette, https://fedgazette.com/unemployment-rate/#chart-unemployment-rate-0.

As of September 2026 · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Situation), via GOVSPENDING.ORG · UNRATE, Unemployment rate, percent, monthly · Percent · original series UNRATE on FRED · Retrieved

Unemployment rate: what changed since the last print

The latest unemployment rate print is 4.20% for September 2026, higher than the print before it, 4.10% for August 2026. About a year earlier, for September 2025, it was 4.40%, and the latest print is lower than that.

This paper says only whether the latest stored print is higher than, lower than, or the same as an earlier stored print, and prints both. It does not compute a difference or a percent.

PeriodUnemployment rate
September 20264.20%
August 20264.10%
July 20264.10%
June 20264.20%
May 20264.30%
April 20264.30%
March 20264.30%
February 20264.40%
January 20264.30%
December 20254.40%
November 20254.50%
September 20254.40%

What the unemployment rate is, in plain English

The unemployment rate is the share of the labor force that has no job and is actively looking for one. The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures it each month in a survey of households and publishes it in the Employment Situation report, the same release that carries nonfarm payrolls.

A person who has stopped looking for work is not counted as unemployed, and a person with a part-time job is counted as employed. That is why economists read the rate alongside other labor market measures.

Congress has given the Federal Reserve two goals: maximum employment and stable prices. The unemployment rate is one of the numbers the Federal Open Market Committee weighs when it sets the federal funds rate. This paper prints the rate as published and does not forecast it.

Unemployment rate
The share of the labor force without a job that is looking for work.
Labor force
People who have a job or are looking for one.
Seasonally adjusted
Smoothed for regular seasonal patterns, which is how this series is published.

Unemployment rate questions answered

What is the latest unemployment rate?

The unemployment rate was 4.20% for September 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via GOVSPENDING.ORG.

What is the unemployment rate?

It is the share of the labor force that has no job and is actively looking for one, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ household survey.

Who publishes the unemployment rate?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes it in the monthly Employment Situation report.

How often does the unemployment rate update?

Monthly, usually on the first Friday, for the month before. The period for the latest print is shown beside the figure.

Why does the Fed care about the unemployment rate?

Congress gave the Fed a goal of maximum employment alongside stable prices, so the labor market is one input to rate decisions.

What does the as-of date mean?

It is the date the agency attached to the figure, and it is printed beside the figure. It can be earlier than today: a daily series is dated its business day, a weekly or monthly series is dated its week or month. The page also prints when this paper retrieved the file, so you can tell a late feed from a late print.

How do I cite a figure from this page?

Cite the agency first (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via GOVSPENDING.ORG). Then name The Fed Gazette as the place you read it. The Cite this panel on the page gives APA, MLA and Chicago lines built from the agency, the series name, the as-of date, the source URL and the date this paper retrieved the file.