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The number of people who experienced unemployment at some point during 2020 was 26.4 million, up by 12.9 million from 2019. Overall, 168.6 million people worked or looked for work at some time in 2020, down by 2.1 million from 2019. These changes reflect the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market in 2020.
The work-experience unemployment rate (those looking for work during the year as a percent of those who worked or looked for work during the year) nearly doubled, increasing from 8.0 percent in 2019 to 15.7 percent in 2020. This is the highest rate since 2010, when it was 15.9 percent.
Year | Total | Men | Women |
---|---|---|---|
1958 |
17.9% | 19.6% | 15.1% |
1959 |
15.3 | 16.5 | 13.5 |
1960 |
17.2 | 18.4 | 15.3 |
1961 |
18.4 | 19.4 | 16.7 |
1962 |
18.2 | 18.8 | 17.1 |
1963 |
16.7 | 17.2 | 15.9 |
1964 |
16.2 | 16.3 | 16.1 |
1965 |
14.1 | 14.0 | 14.2 |
1966 |
13.0 | 12.5 | 13.8 |
1967 |
12.9 | 12.6 | 13.4 |
1968 |
12.4 | 11.7 | 13.4 |
1969 |
12.5 | 12.3 | 12.9 |
1970 |
15.3 | 15.5 | 15.0 |
1971 |
16.3 | 16.4 | 16.2 |
1972 |
15.5 | 15.3 | 15.8 |
1973 |
14.3 | 13.5 | 15.4 |
1974 |
17.9 | 17.3 | 18.7 |
1975 |
20.2 | 20.0 | 20.5 |
1976 |
19.1 | 18.8 | 19.5 |
1977 |
17.9 | 17.5 | 18.3 |
1978 |
15.9 | 15.4 | 16.5 |
1979 |
15.8 | 15.5 | 16.1 |
1980 |
18.1 | 18.5 | 17.6 |
1981 |
19.5 | 20.0 | 19.0 |
1982 |
22.0 | 23.3 | 20.4 |
1983 |
19.6 | 21.0 | 17.8 |
1984 |
17.4 | 18.1 | 16.5 |
1985 |
16.7 | 17.2 | 16.0 |
1986 |
16.2 | 16.9 | 15.3 |
1987 |
14.1 | 15.0 | 13.1 |
1988 |
12.9 | 13.7 | 12.0 |
1989 |
12.9 | 13.7 | 12.1 |
1990 |
14.7 | 15.7 | 13.6 |
1991 |
15.7 | 17.5 | 13.7 |
1992 |
15.8 | 17.7 | 13.6 |
1993 |
14.8 | 15.9 | 13.5 |
1994 |
13.5 | 14.2 | 12.7 |
1995 |
12.8 | 13.3 | 12.1 |
1996 |
11.7 | 12.0 | 11.3 |
1997 |
10.8 | 11.2 | 10.2 |
1998 |
9.6 | 9.5 | 9.7 |
1999 |
8.8 | 9.0 | 8.4 |
2000 |
8.6 | 9.0 | 8.1 |
2001 |
10.4 | 11.1 | 9.6 |
2002 |
11.0 | 11.9 | 9.9 |
2003 |
10.7 | 11.5 | 9.8 |
2004 |
9.7 | 10.1 | 9.3 |
2005 |
9.3 | 9.7 | 8.8 |
2006 |
9.1 | 9.6 | 8.5 |
2007 |
9.5 | 10.3 | 8.6 |
2008 |
13.2 | 14.5 | 11.7 |
2009 |
16.4 | 18.8 | 13.6 |
2010 |
15.9 | 17.7 | 13.8 |
2011 |
14.9 | 15.8 | 13.8 |
2012 |
13.9 | 14.5 | 13.1 |
2013 |
12.9 | 13.5 | 12.2 |
2014 |
10.9 | 11.4 | 10.3 |
2015 |
10.2 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
2016 |
9.4 | 9.5 | 9.2 |
2017 |
8.6 | 9.0 | 8.3 |
2018 |
7.8 | 8.2 | 7.4 |
2019 |
8.0 | 8.3 | 7.6 |
2020 |
15.7 | 15.6 | 15.8 |
Note: Data for 1966 and later refer to people 16 years and older. Data for 1958–65 are for people 14 years and older. |
In 2020, the work-experience unemployment rates for men (15.6 percent) and women (15.8 percent) were little different from each other. The rates for both men and women rose sharply from the prior year.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "Work Experience of the Population — 2020."
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 15.7 percent of people who worked or looked for work experienced unemployment in 2020 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/15-7-percent-of-people-who-worked-or-looked-for-work-experienced-unemployment-in-2020.htm (visited October 31, 2024).