The current unemployment rate is reported monthly in the Employment Report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here is a history of the current unemployment rate statistics for every month since March 2007.
2009 Unemployment Statistics
October: Unemployment rose to 10.2%. If this continues for nine more months, it will be as bad as the 1982 recession.
September - The unemployment rate rises to 9.8%.
August - The unemployment rate is now 9.7%.
July - Unemployment stays at 9.5%. Job loss trend worsens when compared to last year.
June - Unemployment continued to climb, affecting 14.7 million people, or 9.5% of the work force.
May - Unemployment rose to 9.4%, which means 14 million workers were without jobs.
April - The unemployment rate rose to 8.9% with 13.7 million workers unemployed.
March - Over 694,000 workers became unemployed in March, bringing the total count to 13.1 million and the unemployment rate to 8.5%.
February - The number of unemployed workers increased by 851,000, driving the unemployment rate to 8.1%.
January - The economy lost 598,000 jobs, driving the unemployment rate to 7.6%.
2008 Unemployment Statistics
December - Unemployment rose to 7.2%, increasing faster than in the 2001 recession.
November - Unemployment rose to 6.7%.
October - The economy lost 240,000 jobs from the prior month, and unemployment remained at 6.5%, a 14-year high.
September - The economy lost 156,000 jobs from the prior month, and unemployment remained at 6.1%.
August - The economy lost 84,000 jobs from the prior month, and unemployment increased to 6.1%.
July - The economy lost 51,000 jobs from the prior month, and 150,000 in the last year (11% decline). Unemployment increased to 5.5%.
June - The economy lost 62,000 jobs in June, a decline of .22% from the prior year.
May - The economy lost 49,000 jobs from the prior month, 150,000 in the last year and unemployment increased to 5.5%.
April - The economy lost 20,000 jobs from the prior month, but only gained .18% year over year, showing a worsening trend.
March - The economy lost 80,000 jobs since last month, the worst loss since the last recession.
February - The economy lost 63,000 jobs in February when compared to January, and only gained .4% when compared year-over-year.
January - For the first time since 2003, the economy lost jobs (16,000), and year-over-year growth was only .6%.
2007 Unemployment Statistics
December - Unemployment rose to 5%. Year-over-year, manufacturing jobs were down 1.5%. This was the worst performance this year.
November - Only 94,000 new jobs were added, an increase year-over-year of only 1.1%, the worst since 2004. Manufacturing jobs were down 1.3% from the prior year.
October - Year-over-year employment was up only 1.2%, the worst since 2004. Manufacturing jobs were down 1.6% since the prior year.
September - Jobs increased 1.2% year-over-year, the weakest job growth since 2004. Manufacturing jobs declined 1.6% from the year before.
August - Since the previous month, 4,000 jobs were eliminated in the overall economy. Manufacturing jobs declined 1.5% from the year before.
July - Only 92,000 jobs were created in July, which resulted in a 1.4% increase from the year before. Manufacturing jobs declined 1.2% from the year before.
June - Although jobs overall increased 1.5% year-over-year, manufacturing jobs declined 1.3%.
May - There were 1.2% fewer manufacturing jobs than the year before, despite an increase of jobs overall of 1.5%.
April - Although jobs increased 1.4%, manufacturing jobs declined 1.1% year-over-year.
March - Employment increased 1.4%, dragged down by a .6% decline in manufacturing jobs.
