The Fact
The official U.S. unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people divided by the civilian labor force. To be classified as unemployed in the Current Population Survey, a person generally must have had no employment during the reference week, been available for work, and made specific efforts to find work during the previous 4 weeks. People on temporary layoff who expect recall are an exception to the job-search requirement.
What This Means
The unemployment rate is not the percentage of all adults who do not have a job. It measures a narrower group: people who are working or actively participating in the labor market, with the unemployed counted as a share of that labor force.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, How the Government Measures Unemployment; CPS Concepts and Definitions. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm