Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) in United States
United States: Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) was 4.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in United States, 1960–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in United States stood at 4.4%.
That represents a change of up 6.2% on the previous year and down 18.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in United States peaked at 10.5% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 1969.
That places United States 100th out of 181 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.4% | — |
| 1961 | 6.4% | +18.5% |
| 1962 | 5.2% | -18.8% |
| 1963 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 4.6% | -11.5% |
| 1965 | 4.0% | -13.0% |
| 1966 | 3.2% | -20.0% |
| 1967 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 1968 | 2.9% | -6.5% |
| 1969 | 2.8% | -3.4% |
| 1970 | 4.4% | +57.1% |
| 1971 | 5.3% | +20.5% |
| 1972 | 5.0% | -5.7% |
| 1973 | 4.2% | -16.0% |
| 1974 | 4.9% | +16.7% |
| 1975 | 7.9% | +61.2% |
| 1976 | 7.1% | -10.1% |
| 1977 | 6.3% | -11.3% |
| 1978 | 5.3% | -15.9% |
| 1979 | 5.1% | -3.8% |
| 1980 | 6.9% | +35.3% |
| 1981 | 7.4% | +7.2% |
| 1982 | 9.9% | +33.8% |
| 1983 | 9.9% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 7.4% | -25.3% |
| 1985 | 7.0% | -5.4% |
| 1986 | 6.9% | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 6.2% | -10.1% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | -11.3% |
| 1989 | 5.2% | -5.5% |
| 1990 | 5.7% | +9.6% |
| 1991 | 7.2% | +26.3% |
| 1992 | 7.9% | +9.7% |
| 1993 | 7.2% | -8.9% |
| 1994 | 6.2% | -14.2% |
| 1995 | 5.6% | -8.8% |
| 1996 | 5.4% | -3.5% |
| 1997 | 4.9% | -9.2% |
| 1998 | 4.4% | -10.6% |
| 1999 | 4.1% | -6.8% |
| 2000 | 3.9% | -5.2% |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +23.1% |
| 2002 | 5.9% | +23.6% |
| 2003 | 6.3% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 5.6% | -10.0% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | -10.1% |
| 2006 | 4.6% | -8.9% |
| 2007 | 4.7% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 6.1% | +29.1% |
| 2009 | 10.3% | +68.8% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 9.4% | -10.9% |
| 2012 | 8.2% | -12.3% |
| 2013 | 7.6% | -7.1% |
| 2014 | 6.3% | -18.0% |
| 2015 | 5.4% | -14.3% |
| 2016 | 4.9% | -8.0% |
| 2017 | 4.4% | -11.0% |
| 2018 | 3.9% | -10.2% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 7.8% | +109.5% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | -29.9% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | -32.7% |
| 2023 | 3.8% | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 4.1% | +8.3% |
| 2025 | 4.4% | +6.2% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 4.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.8%, 90% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +109.5% | 3.7% | 7.8% |
| 2009 | +68.8% | 6.1% | 10.3% |
| 1975 | +61.2% | 4.9% | 7.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.3% | 2.8% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.5% | 4.2% | 7.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.2% | 5.2% | 9.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.9% | 4.1% | 7.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.7% | 3.9% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.4% | 3.7% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.9% | 3.7% | 7.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More work & labour data for United States
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 113,208 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 61.24 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 178,849 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.4 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.05 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 159,991 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 141,322 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 58.55 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.27 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.3372 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in United States?
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in United States was 4.4% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, male (% of male labor force) recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 10.5% in 2010.
- What is the lowest unemployment, male (% of male labor force) recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 1969.
- How does United States rank for unemployment, male (% of male labor force)?
- United States ranks 100th out of 181 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, male (% of male labor force) rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.