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The total number of unemployed people was essentially unchanged at 5.7 million in January 2023. In January, the number of unemployed people on temporary layoff was at 734,000, the lowest since January 2020.
Month | Total unemployed | On temporary layoff | Not on temporary layoff | Job leavers | Reentrants | New entrants | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level | Level | Percentage | Level | Percentage | Level | Percentage | Level | Percentage | Level | Percentage | |
Jan 2022 |
6,511,000 | 952,000 | 14.4% | 2,265,000 | 34.3% | 953,000 | 14.4% | 1,995,000 | 30.2% | 438,000 | 6.6% |
Feb 2022 |
6,272,000 | 879,000 | 13.8 | 2,125,000 | 33.4 | 964,000 | 15.1 | 1,971,000 | 30.9 | 429,000 | 6.7 |
Mar 2022 |
5,972,000 | 784,000 | 12.9 | 2,057,000 | 33.8 | 789,000 | 12.9 | 1,992,000 | 32.7 | 472,000 | 7.7 |
Apr 2022 |
5,968,000 | 857,000 | 14.2 | 1,993,000 | 33.1 | 794,000 | 13.2 | 1,856,000 | 30.9 | 516,000 | 8.6 |
May 2022 |
5,979,000 | 815,000 | 13.6 | 1,916,000 | 32.1 | 766,000 | 12.8 | 1,944,000 | 32.6 | 530,000 | 8.9 |
Jun 2022 |
5,945,000 | 832,000 | 14.1 | 1,802,000 | 30.5 | 833,000 | 14.1 | 1,979,000 | 33.5 | 466,000 | 7.9 |
Jul 2022 |
5,718,000 | 802,000 | 14.0 | 1,814,000 | 31.6 | 843,000 | 14.7 | 1,822,000 | 31.7 | 465,000 | 8.1 |
Aug 2022 |
6,021,000 | 796,000 | 13.5 | 1,898,000 | 32.3 | 897,000 | 15.3 | 1,833,000 | 31.2 | 451,000 | 7.7 |
Sep 2022 |
5,770,000 | 772,000 | 13.5 | 1,758,000 | 30.7 | 904,000 | 15.8 | 1,834,000 | 32.0 | 460,000 | 8.0 |
Oct 2022 |
6,053,000 | 853,000 | 14.4 | 1,842,000 | 31.1 | 861,000 | 14.5 | 1,873,000 | 31.6 | 494,000 | 8.3 |
Nov 2022 |
6,000,000 | 806,000 | 13.5 | 1,956,000 | 32.9 | 829,000 | 13.9 | 1,798,000 | 30.2 | 558,000 | 9.4 |
Dec 2022 |
5,722,000 | 814,000 | 14.2 | 1,815,000 | 31.7 | 825,000 | 14.4 | 1,767,000 | 30.9 | 497,000 | 8.7 |
Jan 2023 |
5,694,000 | 734,000 | 12.7 | 1,795,000 | 31.2 | 884,000 | 15.3 | 1,817,000 | 31.5 | 531,000 | 9.2 |
The number of reentrants was at 1.8 million in January, below the recent peak of 2.4 million in August 2021. In January 2023, the number of unemployed people not on temporary layoff was at 1.8 million, while the number of job leavers was at 884,000.
In January 2023, reentrants and unemployed people not on temporary layoff each made up nearly one-third of total unemployment, at 31.5 percent and 31.2 percent, respectively. Job leavers made up 15.3 percent, while new entrants made up 9.2 percent of unemployed people.
These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. Detail for the data shown by reason for unemployment will not necessarily add to total unemployed because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. For more information, see “The Employment Situation — January 2023.” We also have more charts on employment and unemployment.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Number of unemployed at 5.7 million in January 2023 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/number-of-unemployed-at-5-7-million-in-january-2023.htm (visited October 31, 2024).