Unemployment rate of men vs. women in United States of America
United States of America: Unemployment rate of men vs. women was 4.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment rate of men vs. women in United States of America, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States of America recorded 4.2% for unemployment rate of men vs. women in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and down 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate of men vs. women in United States of America peaked at 10.5% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2022.
United States of America ranks 109th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment rate of men vs. women in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 7.2% | — |
| 1992 | 7.9% | +10.4% |
| 1993 | 7.2% | -9.3% |
| 1994 | 6.2% | -13.8% |
| 1995 | 5.6% | -8.8% |
| 1996 | 5.4% | -3.5% |
| 1997 | 4.9% | -9.1% |
| 1998 | 4.4% | -10.5% |
| 1999 | 4.1% | -6.8% |
| 2000 | 3.9% | -5.2% |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +22.9% |
| 2002 | 5.9% | +23.6% |
| 2003 | 6.3% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 5.6% | -10.0% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | -10.0% |
| 2006 | 4.6% | -8.9% |
| 2007 | 4.7% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 6.1% | +29.0% |
| 2009 | 10.3% | +68.5% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 9.4% | -10.8% |
| 2012 | 8.2% | -12.2% |
| 2013 | 7.6% | -7.2% |
| 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% | +109.9% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | -30.0% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | -32.6% |
| 2023 | 3.8% | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 4.1% | +8.4% |
| 2025 | 4.2% | +2.5% |
United States of America compared with similar countries
- United States of America's 4.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.9%, 85% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment rate of men vs. women in United States of America 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 | +109.9% | 3.7% | 7.8% |
| 2009 | +68.5% | 6.1% | 10.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.9% | 4.1% | 7.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 5.7% | 3.9% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.4% | 3.7% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.8% | 3.7% | 7.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More work & labour data for United States of America
- 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 rate of men vs. women in United States of America?
- Unemployment rate of men vs. women in United States of America was 4.2% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rate of men vs. women recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 10.5% in 2010.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate of men vs. women recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2022.
- How does United States of America rank for unemployment rate of men vs. women?
- United States of America ranks 109th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rate of men vs. women rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Unemployment rate of men vs. women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of the male labor force without work, but actively looking for a job and available to start soon.