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Unemployment rate at 5.5 percent in February 2015

March 11, 2015

The unemployment rate edged down in February 2015, to 5.5 percent. The unemployment rate for teenagers decreased by 1.7 percentage points to 17.1 percent. The jobless rates for adult men (5.2 percent) and adult women (4.9 percent) showed little or no change from January to February.

Unemployment rates for selected groups, seasonally adjusted, February 2006–February 2015
Month Total Men, 20 years and older Women, 20 years and older Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Feb 2006

4.8 4.2 4.3 15.3

Mar 2006

4.7 4.1 4.2 16.1

Apr 2006

4.7 4.2 4.3 14.6

May 2006

4.6 4.2 4.1 14.0

Jun 2006

4.6 4.0 4.1 15.8

Jul 2006

4.7 4.1 4.2 15.9

Aug 2006

4.7 4.1 4.1 16.0

Sep 2006

4.5 3.7 4.2 16.3

Oct 2006

4.4 3.9 3.9 15.2

Nov 2006

4.5 4.0 4.0 14.8

Dec 2006

4.4 3.9 3.9 14.6

Jan 2007

4.6 4.2 4.0 14.8

Feb 2007

4.5 4.2 3.8 14.9

Mar 2007

4.4 4.0 3.8 14.9

Apr 2007

4.5 4.0 3.9 15.9

May 2007

4.4 4.0 3.8 15.9

Jun 2007

4.6 4.0 3.9 16.3

Jul 2007

4.7 4.2 4.2 15.3

Aug 2007

4.6 4.1 4.1 15.9

Sep 2007

4.7 4.2 4.1 15.9

Oct 2007

4.7 4.3 4.1 15.4

Nov 2007

4.7 4.2 4.2 16.2

Dec 2007

5.0 4.4 4.4 16.8

Jan 2008

5.0 4.5 4.3 17.8

Feb 2008

4.9 4.4 4.2 16.6

Mar 2008

5.1 4.6 4.5 16.1

Apr 2008

5.0 4.6 4.2 15.9

May 2008

5.4 4.9 4.6 19.0

Jun 2008

5.6 5.1 4.7 19.2

Jul 2008

5.8 5.4 4.7 20.7

Aug 2008

6.1 5.7 5.4 18.6

Sep 2008

6.1 6.1 5.0 19.1

Oct 2008

6.5 6.3 5.4 20.0

Nov 2008

6.8 6.7 5.7 20.3

Dec 2008

7.3 7.4 5.9 20.5

Jan 2009

7.8 7.9 6.5 20.7

Feb 2009

8.3 8.5 6.8 22.3

Mar 2009

8.7 9.0 7.1 22.2

Apr 2009

9.0 9.5 7.1 22.2

May 2009

9.4 9.8 7.5 23.4

Jun 2009

9.5 9.9 7.6 24.7

Jul 2009

9.5 9.8 7.7 24.3

Aug 2009

9.6 10.0 7.7 25.0

Sep 2009

9.8 10.1 7.9 25.9

Oct 2009

10.0 10.4 8.0 27.2

Nov 2009

9.9 10.3 7.9 26.9

Dec 2009

9.9 10.1 8.0 26.7

Jan 2010

9.8 10.2 7.9 26.1

Feb 2010

9.8 10.3 8.0 25.6

Mar 2010

9.9 10.2 8.1 26.2

Apr 2010

9.9 10.2 8.3 25.4

May 2010

9.6 9.7 8.1 26.5

Jun 2010

9.4 9.7 7.7 25.9

Jul 2010

9.4 9.6 7.9 25.9

Aug 2010

9.5 9.6 8.0 25.5

Sep 2010

9.5 9.6 8.0 25.8

Oct 2010

9.4 9.4 8.0 27.2

Nov 2010

9.8 9.9 8.4 24.8

Dec 2010

9.3 9.4 8.0 25.3

Jan 2011

9.2 9.1 7.9 25.7

Feb 2011

9.0 8.9 7.9 24.1

Mar 2011

9.0 8.8 7.8 24.4

Apr 2011

9.1 8.9 8.0 24.6

May 2011

9.0 8.8 8.0 23.9

Jun 2011

9.1 9.0 8.0 24.6

Jul 2011

9.0 8.8 7.9 24.7

Aug 2011

9.0 8.7 7.9 25.0

Sep 2011

9.0 8.6 8.2 24.4

Oct 2011

8.8 8.6 7.8 24.2

Nov 2011

8.6 8.2 7.8 24.2

Dec 2011

8.5 8.0 7.8 23.3

Jan 2012

8.3 7.7 7.7 23.7

Feb 2012

8.3 7.7 7.6 23.8

Mar 2012

8.2 7.7 7.4 25.0

Apr 2012

8.2 7.6 7.5 24.8

May 2012

8.2 7.7 7.4 24.3

Jun 2012

8.2 7.7 7.4 23.4

Jul 2012

8.2 7.7 7.5 23.6

Aug 2012

8.0 7.5 7.3 24.3

Sep 2012

7.8 7.3 7.0 23.7

Oct 2012

7.8 7.3 7.1 23.9

Nov 2012

7.7 7.2 7.0 24.0

Dec 2012

7.9 7.2 7.3 24.1

Jan 2013

8.0 7.5 7.3 23.9

Feb 2013

7.7 7.0 7.0 25.2

Mar 2013

7.5 6.9 6.9 24.1

Apr 2013

7.6 7.1 6.7 24.1

May 2013

7.5 7.1 6.5 24.2

Jun 2013

7.5 7.0 6.8 23.3

Jul 2013

7.3 7.0 6.4 23.2

Aug 2013

7.2 7.0 6.2 22.5

Sep 2013

7.2 7.1 6.2 21.1

Oct 2013

7.2 6.9 6.3 22.2

Nov 2013

7.0 6.7 6.2 20.9

Dec 2013

6.7 6.3 6.0 20.4

Jan 2014

6.6 6.3 5.9 20.8

Feb 2014

6.7 6.3 5.9 21.3

Mar 2014

6.6 6.0 6.2 20.9

Apr 2014

6.2 5.9 5.7 19.1

May 2014

6.3 5.9 5.7 19.2

Jun 2014

6.1 5.7 5.3 20.7

Jul 2014

6.2 5.7 5.7 20.0

Aug 2014

6.1 5.7 5.6 19.4

Sep 2014

5.9 5.3 5.5 19.8

Oct 2014

5.7 5.1 5.4 18.7

Nov 2014

5.8 5.4 5.2 17.5

Dec 2014

5.6 5.3 5.0 16.8

Jan 2015

5.7 5.3 5.1 18.8

Feb 2015

5.5 5.2 4.9 17.1

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 2.7 million in February. These people accounted for 31.1 percent of the unemployed. Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed is down by 1.1 million.

Number of unemployed people by duration of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, February 2006–February 2015
Month Less than 5 weeks 5 to 14 weeks 15 to 26 weeks 27 Weeks & over

Feb 2006

2,577,000 2,088,000 1,195,000 1,350,000

Mar 2006

2,659,000 1,999,000 1,064,000 1,309,000

Apr 2006

2,665,000 2,142,000 1,022,000 1,331,000

May 2006

2,545,000 2,189,000 969,000 1,333,000

Jun 2006

2,705,000 2,076,000 982,000 1,145,000

Jul 2006

2,721,000 2,126,000 986,000 1,304,000

Aug 2006

2,603,000 2,246,000 987,000 1,306,000

Sep 2006

2,608,000 2,053,000 986,000 1,245,000

Oct 2006

2,616,000 2,103,000 984,000 1,078,000

Nov 2006

2,511,000 2,212,000 1,028,000 1,131,000

Dec 2006

2,596,000 2,047,000 990,000 1,093,000

Jan 2007

2,561,000 2,267,000 1,015,000 1,141,000

Feb 2007

2,574,000 2,168,000 962,000 1,249,000

Mar 2007

2,307,000 2,138,000 1,010,000 1,245,000

Apr 2007

2,456,000 2,178,000 1,075,000 1,206,000

May 2007

2,464,000 2,183,000 1,100,000 1,132,000

Jun 2007

2,551,000 2,134,000 1,138,000 1,143,000

Jul 2007

2,502,000 2,203,000 1,073,000 1,291,000

Aug 2007

2,614,000 2,156,000 1,086,000 1,246,000

Sep 2007

2,557,000 2,292,000 1,091,000 1,264,000

Oct 2007

2,545,000 2,502,000 1,003,000 1,298,000

Nov 2007

2,645,000 2,241,000 992,000 1,374,000

Dec 2007

2,718,000 2,376,000 1,177,000 1,324,000

Jan 2008

2,554,000 2,406,000 1,152,000 1,388,000

Feb 2008

2,653,000 2,370,000 1,116,000 1,329,000

Mar 2008

2,823,000 2,537,000 1,168,000 1,323,000

Apr 2008

2,493,000 2,574,000 1,314,000 1,372,000

May 2008

3,278,000 2,476,000 1,219,000 1,561,000

Jun 2008

2,753,000 3,016,000 1,337,000 1,576,000

Jul 2008

2,854,000 2,833,000 1,450,000 1,664,000

Aug 2008

3,256,000 2,758,000 1,554,000 1,866,000

Sep 2008

2,848,000 3,035,000 1,599,000 2,027,000

Oct 2008

3,170,000 3,055,000 1,710,000 2,280,000

Nov 2008

3,335,000 3,260,000 1,704,000 2,219,000

Dec 2008

3,255,000 3,498,000 1,936,000 2,610,000

Jan 2009

3,524,000 3,662,000 2,065,000 2,699,000

Feb 2009

3,450,000 3,936,000 2,456,000 2,999,000

Mar 2009

3,465,000 4,122,000 2,625,000 3,260,000

Apr 2009

3,338,000 4,138,000 2,634,000 3,752,000

May 2009

3,246,000 4,458,000 3,049,000 3,973,000

Jun 2009

3,114,000 4,052,000 3,488,000 4,349,000

Jul 2009

3,137,000 3,505,000 2,923,000 4,917,000

Aug 2009

2,940,000 3,927,000 2,791,000 5,037,000

Sep 2009

2,841,000 3,775,000 2,908,000 5,494,000

Oct 2009

3,223,000 3,552,000 3,006,000 5,643,000

Nov 2009

2,816,000 3,457,000 2,847,000 5,908,000

Dec 2009

2,879,000 3,457,000 2,712,000 6,122,000

Jan 2010

2,921,000 3,390,000 2,574,000 6,319,000

Feb 2010

2,807,000 3,390,000 2,793,000 6,129,000

Mar 2010

2,769,000 3,294,000 2,542,000 6,545,000

Apr 2010

2,725,000 3,086,000 2,330,000 6,800,000

May 2010

2,773,000 3,127,000 2,260,000 6,638,000

Jun 2010

2,683,000 3,159,000 2,284,000 6,623,000

Jul 2010

2,806,000 2,972,000 2,208,000 6,506,000

Aug 2010

2,671,000 3,534,000 2,162,000 6,259,000

Sep 2010

2,819,000 3,308,000 2,291,000 6,163,000

Oct 2010

2,655,000 3,345,000 2,387,000 6,227,000

Nov 2010

2,912,000 3,321,000 2,370,000 6,326,000

Dec 2010

2,693,000 3,169,000 2,120,000 6,429,000

Jan 2011

2,678,000 3,026,000 2,211,000 6,202,000

Feb 2011

2,470,000 3,106,000 2,267,000 5,919,000

Mar 2011

2,535,000 2,979,000 2,056,000 6,110,000

Apr 2011

2,789,000 2,979,000 2,073,000 5,931,000

May 2011

2,670,000 2,928,000 2,047,000 6,151,000

Jun 2011

2,940,000 2,987,000 1,897,000 6,233,000

Jul 2011

2,635,000 2,942,000 2,002,000 6,166,000

Aug 2011

2,643,000 2,992,000 2,204,000 6,033,000

Sep 2011

2,754,000 2,881,000 2,022,000 6,280,000

Oct 2011

2,666,000 3,253,000 1,944,000 5,856,000

Nov 2011

2,557,000 2,913,000 2,018,000 5,692,000

Dec 2011

2,676,000 2,870,000 1,967,000 5,599,000

Jan 2012

2,464,000 2,900,000 1,940,000 5,503,000

Feb 2012

2,610,000 2,828,000 2,027,000 5,298,000

Mar 2012

2,710,000 2,795,000 1,935,000 5,247,000

Apr 2012

2,628,000 2,859,000 1,919,000 5,130,000

May 2012

2,552,000 3,040,000 1,696,000 5,389,000

Jun 2012

2,750,000 2,809,000 1,849,000 5,358,000

Jul 2012

2,678,000 3,000,000 1,780,000 5,188,000

Aug 2012

2,790,000 2,825,000 1,844,000 5,033,000

Sep 2012

2,538,000 2,808,000 1,865,000 4,889,000

Oct 2012

2,623,000 2,866,000 1,769,000 5,019,000

Nov 2012

2,625,000 2,774,000 1,776,000 4,781,000

Dec 2012

2,745,000 2,887,000 1,886,000 4,771,000

Jan 2013

2,757,000 3,107,000 1,862,000 4,683,000

Feb 2013

2,712,000 2,769,000 1,723,000 4,695,000

Mar 2013

2,478,000 2,840,000 1,773,000 4,531,000

Apr 2013

2,502,000 2,870,000 1,934,000 4,381,000

May 2013

2,664,000 2,666,000 1,962,000 4,349,000

Jun 2013

2,679,000 2,852,000 1,917,000 4,352,000

Jul 2013

2,507,000 2,790,000 1,791,000 4,269,000

Aug 2013

2,477,000 2,725,000 1,712,000 4,297,000

Sep 2013

2,609,000 2,657,000 1,817,000 4,138,000

Oct 2013

2,798,000 2,659,000 1,772,000 4,046,000

Nov 2013

2,420,000 2,581,000 1,719,000 4,059,000

Dec 2013

2,323,000 2,525,000 1,680,000 3,877,000

Jan 2014

2,449,000 2,428,000 1,699,000 3,628,000

Feb 2014

2,388,000 2,558,000 1,597,000 3,804,000

Mar 2014

2,477,000 2,584,000 1,669,000 3,682,000

Apr 2014

2,451,000 2,346,000 1,509,000 3,413,000

May 2014

2,553,000 2,401,000 1,451,000 3,351,000

Jun 2014

2,423,000 2,418,000 1,516,000 3,076,000

Jul 2014

2,583,000 2,435,000 1,423,000 3,166,000

Aug 2014

2,609,000 2,444,000 1,500,000 2,966,000

Sep 2014

2,372,000 2,495,000 1,423,000 2,951,000

Oct 2014

2,455,000 2,322,000 1,416,000 2,904,000

Nov 2014

2,505,000 2,378,000 1,403,000 2,822,000

Dec 2014

2,375,000 2,293,000 1,274,000 2,785,000

Jan 2015

2,383,000 2,318,000 1,380,000 2,800,000

Feb 2015

2,431,000 2,223,000 1,335,000 2,709,000

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "The Employment Situation — February 2015" (HTML) (PDF). For more charts featuring Current Population Survey data, see Charting the labor market: Data from the Current Population Survey (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rate at 5.5 percent in February 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/unemployment-in-february-2015.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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