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Number of unemployed decreased by 496,000 to 9.3 million in May 2021
June 09, 2021
The unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in May 2021, down 0.3 percentage point from April 2021. The number of unemployed people fell by 496,000 to 9.3 million. This is down considerably from the recent high in April 2020 but remains well above the figure of 5.7 million in February 2020.
Number of unemployed by duration of unemployment, January 2019–May 2021
Month
Number of unemployed
Percent distribution
Total unemployed
Less than 5 weeks
5 to 14 weeks
15 to 26 weeks
27 weeks and over
Less than 5 weeks
5 to 14 weeks
15 to 26 weeks
27 weeks and over
Jan 2019
6,442,000
2,358,000
2,006,000
892,000
1,260,000
36.2%
30.8%
13.7%
19.3%
Feb 2019
6,128,000
2,236,000
1,730,000
914,000
1,292,000
36.2
28.0
14.8
20.9
Mar 2019
6,201,000
2,171,000
1,795,000
902,000
1,324,000
35.1
29.0
14.6
21.4
Apr 2019
5,995,000
1,986,000
1,847,000
799,000
1,300,000
33.5
31.1
13.5
21.9
May 2019
5,965,000
2,117,000
1,654,000
747,000
1,335,000
36.2
28.3
12.8
22.8
Jun 2019
5,914,000
1,846,000
1,878,000
782,000
1,381,000
31.4
31.9
13.3
23.5
Jul 2019
5,969,000
2,139,000
1,775,000
939,000
1,146,000
35.7
29.6
15.7
19.1
Aug 2019
6,000,000
2,235,000
1,750,000
862,000
1,228,000
36.8
28.8
14.2
20.2
Sep 2019
5,728,000
1,857,000
1,818,000
861,000
1,297,000
31.8
31.2
14.8
22.2
Oct 2019
5,922,000
1,954,000
1,778,000
927,000
1,235,000
33.2
30.2
15.7
21.0
Nov 2019
5,907,000
2,037,000
1,744,000
881,000
1,204,000
34.7
29.7
15.0
20.5
Dec 2019
5,844,000
2,098,000
1,682,000
821,000
1,177,000
36.3
29.1
14.2
20.4
Jan 2020
5,796,000
2,071,000
1,752,000
881,000
1,163,000
35.3
29.9
15.0
19.8
Feb 2020
5,717,000
2,082,000
1,753,000
817,000
1,111,000
36.1
30.4
14.2
19.3
Mar 2020
7,185,000
3,424,000
1,785,000
784,000
1,188,000
47.7
24.9
10.9
16.5
Apr 2020
23,109,000
14,282,000
6,992,000
763,000
1,004,000
62.0
30.3
3.3
4.4
May 2020
20,975,000
3,875,000
14,804,000
997,000
1,203,000
18.6
70.9
4.8
5.8
Jun 2020
17,697,000
2,853,000
11,544,000
1,907,000
1,358,000
16.2
65.4
10.8
7.7
Jul 2020
16,308,000
3,188,000
5,175,000
6,488,000
1,483,000
19.5
31.7
39.7
9.1
Aug 2020
13,542,000
2,312,000
3,213,000
6,536,000
1,593,000
16.9
23.5
47.9
11.7
Sep 2020
12,535,000
2,552,000
2,754,000
4,934,000
2,405,000
20.2
21.8
39.0
19.0
Oct 2020
11,049,000
2,494,000
2,341,000
2,651,000
3,534,000
22.6
21.2
24.1
32.1
Nov 2020
10,728,000
2,455,000
2,404,000
1,875,000
3,929,000
23.0
22.5
17.6
36.8
Dec 2020
10,736,000
2,904,000
2,222,000
1,572,000
3,956,000
27.3
20.9
14.8
37.1
Jan 2021
10,130,000
2,278,000
2,528,000
1,346,000
4,023,000
22.4
24.8
13.2
39.5
Feb 2021
9,972,000
2,185,000
2,254,000
1,407,000
4,148,000
21.9
22.6
14.1
41.5
Mar 2021
9,710,000
2,177,000
1,941,000
1,391,000
4,218,000
22.4
20.0
14.3
43.4
Apr 2021
9,812,000
2,414,000
1,939,000
1,203,000
4,183,000
24.8
19.9
12.4
43.0
May 2021
9,316,000
2,023,000
2,126,000
1,262,000
3,752,000
22.1
23.2
13.8
40.9
Note: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data will not necessarily sum to total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the duration groups.
In May 2021, the number of newly unemployed (those unemployed for less than 5 weeks) declined by 391,000 to 2.0 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those unemployed for 27 weeks or more) fell by 431,000 to 3.8 million in May but is 2.6 million higher than in February 2020.
These long-term unemployed accounted for 40.9 percent of the total unemployed in May 2021, while the number of newly unemployed accounted for 22.1 percent. The share of those unemployed for 5 to 14 weeks among the total unemployed was 23.2 percent in May 2021, while the share of those unemployed for 15 to 26 weeks was 13.8 percent.
United States Department of Labor
