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15.7 percent of people who worked or looked for work experienced unemployment in 2020
December 17, 2021
The number of people who experienced unemployment at some point during 2020 was 26.4 million, up by 12.9 million from 2019. Overall, 168.6 million people worked or looked for work at some time in 2020, down by 2.1 million from 2019. These changes reflect the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market in 2020.
The work-experience unemployment rate (those looking for work during the year as a percent of those who worked or looked for work during the year) nearly doubled, increasing from 8.0 percent in 2019 to 15.7 percent in 2020. This is the highest rate since 2010, when it was 15.9 percent.
Number of people unemployed at some time during the year as a percent of those who worked or looked for work during the year, 1958–2020
Year
Total
Men
Women
1958
17.9%
19.6%
15.1%
1959
15.3
16.5
13.5
1960
17.2
18.4
15.3
1961
18.4
19.4
16.7
1962
18.2
18.8
17.1
1963
16.7
17.2
15.9
1964
16.2
16.3
16.1
1965
14.1
14.0
14.2
1966
13.0
12.5
13.8
1967
12.9
12.6
13.4
1968
12.4
11.7
13.4
1969
12.5
12.3
12.9
1970
15.3
15.5
15.0
1971
16.3
16.4
16.2
1972
15.5
15.3
15.8
1973
14.3
13.5
15.4
1974
17.9
17.3
18.7
1975
20.2
20.0
20.5
1976
19.1
18.8
19.5
1977
17.9
17.5
18.3
1978
15.9
15.4
16.5
1979
15.8
15.5
16.1
1980
18.1
18.5
17.6
1981
19.5
20.0
19.0
1982
22.0
23.3
20.4
1983
19.6
21.0
17.8
1984
17.4
18.1
16.5
1985
16.7
17.2
16.0
1986
16.2
16.9
15.3
1987
14.1
15.0
13.1
1988
12.9
13.7
12.0
1989
12.9
13.7
12.1
1990
14.7
15.7
13.6
1991
15.7
17.5
13.7
1992
15.8
17.7
13.6
1993
14.8
15.9
13.5
1994
13.5
14.2
12.7
1995
12.8
13.3
12.1
1996
11.7
12.0
11.3
1997
10.8
11.2
10.2
1998
9.6
9.5
9.7
1999
8.8
9.0
8.4
2000
8.6
9.0
8.1
2001
10.4
11.1
9.6
2002
11.0
11.9
9.9
2003
10.7
11.5
9.8
2004
9.7
10.1
9.3
2005
9.3
9.7
8.8
2006
9.1
9.6
8.5
2007
9.5
10.3
8.6
2008
13.2
14.5
11.7
2009
16.4
18.8
13.6
2010
15.9
17.7
13.8
2011
14.9
15.8
13.8
2012
13.9
14.5
13.1
2013
12.9
13.5
12.2
2014
10.9
11.4
10.3
2015
10.2
10.4
10.0
2016
9.4
9.5
9.2
2017
8.6
9.0
8.3
2018
7.8
8.2
7.4
2019
8.0
8.3
7.6
2020
15.7
15.6
15.8
Note: Data for 1966 and later refer to people 16 years and older. Data for 1958–65 are for people 14 years and older.
In 2020, the work-experience unemployment rates for men (15.6 percent) and women (15.8 percent) were little different from each other. The rates for both men and women rose sharply from the prior year.
United States Department of Labor
