Macro Release Desk

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · data retrieved October 15, 2026

Indicator brief · LNS14000000

What is the current U.S. unemployment rate?

The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% in September 2026, seasonally adjusted, according to the BLS household survey. That is +0.1 percentage point versus the prior month and −0.2 point versus a year earlier.

Reference period September 2026 · retrieved from the agency on October 15, 2026 · next release November 6, 2026, 08:30 ET

Latest print · September 2026

4.2%

Change vs prior month
+0.1 pt
Change vs year earlier
−0.2 pt
3-month average
4.13%
Sahm-style gap
−0.10 pt
I.

What the latest numbers show

  1. The three-month average unemployment rate is 4.13%; over the last 36 months the rate ranged from 3.7% (Sep 2023) to 4.5% (Nov 2025).
  2. The lowest reading in the 116-month window shown here was 3.4% in Apr 2023; the highest was 14.8% in Apr 2020.
  3. A Sahm-rule style calculation (three-month average minus the lowest three-month average of the prior 12 months) gives −0.10 percentage point. The rule's historical recession signal is a rise of 0.50 point or more; this is a mechanical reading, not a forecast.
  4. The minimum single-month rate in the 12 months before the latest quarter was 4.1%.
II.

History

U.S. unemployment rate, seasonally adjustedMonthly unemployment rate (BLS LNS14000000), Jan 2017 to Sep 2026. Latest: 2026-09 4.2%.05101520172019202120232025
Monthly unemployment rate (BLS LNS14000000), Jan 2017 to Sep 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved October 15, 2026.

Recent observations

MonthRate %Change (pt)
Sep 20264.2+0.1
Aug 20264.10.0
Jul 20264.1−0.1
Jun 20264.2−0.1
May 20264.30.0
Apr 20264.30.0
Mar 20264.3−0.1
Feb 20264.4+0.1
Jan 20264.3−0.1
Dec 20254.4−0.1
Nov 20254.5—
Sep 20254.4+0.1
Aug 20254.30.0
 Values as published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; computed columns are ours.
III.

What it measures

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the civilian labor force, ages 16 and over. A person counts as unemployed if they had no job, were available for work, and actively looked for work in the prior four weeks (or were on temporary layoff).

It comes from the Current Population Survey (household survey) of about 60,000 eligible households, not from unemployment insurance claims.

IV.

How and when it is published

The rate is published in the monthly Employment Situation report, usually on the first Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, covering the prior month.

Because it is a sample estimate, BLS notes that a month-to-month change of about 0.2 percentage point is needed to be statistically significant.

Next scheduled release: November 6, 2026 at 08:30 ET (release calendar).

V.

Sources

VI.

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