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38.9 percent of unemployed in March 2023 had been searching for work for fewer than 5 weeks
April 12, 2023
There were 5.8 million people unemployed in March 2023. Of these, 38.9 percent had been searching for work for fewer than 5 weeks, while 18.9 percent had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.
Percent distribution of duration of unemployment, March 2018–March 2023
Month
Less than 5 weeks
5 to 14 weeks
15 to 26 weeks
27 weeks or more
Mar 2018
35.7%
31.1%
12.3%
20.9%
Apr 2018
33.5
31.2
13.9
21.5
May 2018
32.7
31.8
15.3
20.2
Jun 2018
35.3
29.1
13.7
21.9
Jul 2018
31.8
29.1
16.2
22.9
Aug 2018
35.8
27.7
15.9
20.6
Sep 2018
34.0
28.4
15.4
22.2
Oct 2018
33.3
29.8
14.9
21.9
Nov 2018
35.5
29.6
14.8
20.1
Dec 2018
33.5
31.7
14.5
20.3
Jan 2019
35.7
30.7
13.6
20.0
Feb 2019
36.1
28.9
14.1
20.9
Mar 2019
35.3
29.7
13.7
21.4
Apr 2019
33.3
32.2
12.3
22.2
May 2019
36.8
27.0
13.0
23.1
Jun 2019
32.2
31.1
13.7
23.0
Jul 2019
35.0
29.6
16.0
19.5
Aug 2019
37.4
27.9
14.8
19.9
Sep 2019
32.0
30.3
15.3
22.4
Oct 2019
33.0
29.7
16.2
21.1
Nov 2019
35.0
29.6
15.4
20.0
Dec 2019
35.7
30.2
14.1
20.1
Jan 2020
34.6
30.1
14.8
20.5
Feb 2020
36.2
31.2
13.4
19.2
Mar 2020
47.8
25.5
10.2
16.5
Apr 2020
61.9
30.8
3.0
4.3
May 2020
18.6
70.8
4.8
5.7
Jun 2020
16.5
65.0
11.0
7.6
Jul 2020
19.3
31.5
39.9
9.3
Aug 2020
17.3
22.8
48.4
11.5
Sep 2020
20.1
21.6
39.2
19.1
Oct 2020
22.5
21.2
24.2
32.1
Nov 2020
23.1
22.7
17.7
36.4
Dec 2020
27.0
21.7
14.6
36.7
Jan 2021
22.3
24.6
13.1
40.1
Feb 2021
22.2
22.6
13.7
41.5
Mar 2021
22.5
20.1
13.8
43.6
Apr 2021
24.5
20.7
11.7
43.0
May 2021
21.9
23.8
13.5
40.8
Jun 2021
21.0
23.4
14.1
41.5
Jul 2021
26.0
20.4
13.9
39.8
Aug 2021
25.3
22.5
14.9
37.3
Sep 2021
29.1
22.6
13.5
34.8
Oct 2021
28.5
25.5
14.0
32.0
Nov 2021
29.4
25.3
13.4
31.9
Dec 2021
31.2
25.0
12.5
31.2
Jan 2022
37.1
24.7
12.5
25.7
Feb 2022
33.7
28.3
11.4
26.6
Mar 2022
38.6
28.3
9.2
23.9
Apr 2022
38.2
27.8
9.0
25.1
May 2022
35.0
30.2
11.7
23.0
Jun 2022
38.0
26.5
13.1
22.5
Jul 2022
36.7
31.1
12.9
19.2
Aug 2022
36.6
29.6
14.6
19.2
Sep 2022
37.3
28.4
15.6
18.8
Oct 2022
37.1
29.7
13.7
19.6
Nov 2022
37.6
28.4
13.7
20.3
Dec 2022
38.7
28.4
14.3
18.5
Jan 2023
33.9
31.1
15.5
19.4
Feb 2023
38.2
30.8
13.4
17.6
Mar 2023
38.9
29.7
12.6
18.9
As unemployment increased at the start of the pandemic, the percentage of people unemployed for fewer than 5 weeks went from 36.2 percent in February 2020 to 61.9 percent in April 2020. Eventually the share who were unemployed 27 or more weeks began rising, reaching a peak in March 2021 and then gradually falling since then. In recent months unemployment durations have been similar to their pre-pandemic averages.
United States Department of Labor
