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33.5 percent of people unemployed in February 2025 were jobless for five weeks or less

March 13, 2025

In February 2025, the number of unemployed for five weeks or less was 2.3 million, or about a third (33.5 percent) of all unemployed people. Those unemployed for five weeks or less have accounted for 30.0 percent or more of the total unemployed since December 2021.

Percent distribution of duration of unemployment
Month Less than 5 weeks 5 to 14 weeks 15 to 26 weeks 27 weeks or more

Feb 2015

27.7 26.0 15.5 30.8

Mar 2015

28.6 27.0 14.6 29.8

Apr 2015

31.2 26.9 12.5 29.4

May 2015

28.3 28.7 14.4 28.6

Jun 2015

27.9 29.0 16.9 26.2

Jul 2015

31.5 27.1 15.4 26.0

Aug 2015

26.4 29.6 16.3 27.6

Sep 2015

29.7 28.5 15.5 26.3

Oct 2015

29.7 28.5 15.2 26.7

Nov 2015

29.7 28.6 15.9 25.8

Dec 2015

30.2 27.6 15.5 26.8

Jan 2016

28.2 29.8 14.8 27.1

Feb 2016

28.9 28.3 15.0 27.8

Mar 2016

30.4 27.2 14.4 28.0

Apr 2016

32.1 26.4 15.0 26.6

May 2016

30.0 30.0 14.5 25.5

Jun 2016

31.1 28.5 14.5 25.8

Jul 2016

28.8 29.8 16.0 25.4

Aug 2016

29.7 30.5 14.2 25.6

Sep 2016

32.5 28.6 14.8 24.2

Oct 2016

31.0 29.0 15.2 24.8

Nov 2016

31.9 28.7 14.7 24.7

Dec 2016

31.1 28.0 16.4 24.6

Jan 2017

32.2 27.0 15.9 24.8

Feb 2017

33.6 28.5 13.8 24.1

Mar 2017

32.8 29.2 14.4 23.6

Apr 2017

32.8 29.2 13.8 24.1

May 2017

30.8 28.6 15.6 25.0

Jun 2017

34.1 28.2 13.4 24.3

Jul 2017

30.3 29.6 14.9 25.2

Aug 2017

31.7 29.0 15.6 23.7

Sep 2017

32.7 27.8 14.9 24.5

Oct 2017

32.1 29.6 14.0 24.3

Nov 2017

33.8 28.0 14.6 23.6

Dec 2017

33.6 29.6 14.0 22.8

Jan 2018

33.9 29.0 14.6 22.5

Feb 2018

37.0 28.4 13.1 21.5

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

36.0 30.5 13.6 19.8

Feb 2019

36.3 28.6 14.4 20.7

Mar 2019

35.0 30.0 14.6 20.4

Apr 2019

33.6 32.0 13.4 21.0

May 2019

36.8 27.0 13.6 22.6

Jun 2019

32.2 30.8 14.2 22.7

Jul 2019

34.8 30.2 14.8 20.2

Aug 2019

37.3 28.1 13.9 20.7

Sep 2019

32.0 30.2 14.6 23.2

Oct 2019

32.6 29.9 15.5 21.9

Nov 2019

35.1 29.2 15.1 20.5

Dec 2019

35.5 30.3 14.1 20.2

Jan 2020

35.0 29.9 15.1 20.0

Feb 2020

36.2 30.9 13.7 19.2

Mar 2020

47.6 25.7 10.9 15.9

Apr 2020

62.0 30.7 3.4 4.0

May 2020

18.5 70.9 5.1 5.5

Jun 2020

16.4 65.1 10.8 7.7

Jul 2020

19.3 31.6 39.7 9.5

Aug 2020

17.1 22.9 48.0 12.0

Sep 2020

20.2 21.6 38.9 19.3

Oct 2020

22.5 21.2 23.8 32.5

Nov 2020

23.2 22.7 17.6 36.5

Dec 2020

27.0 21.7 14.6 36.7

Jan 2021

22.6 24.4 13.3 39.8

Feb 2021

22.1 22.3 13.9 41.7

Mar 2021

22.4 20.3 14.4 42.9

Apr 2021

24.8 20.4 12.8 42.0

May 2021

21.8 23.8 14.1 40.4

Jun 2021

21.1 22.9 14.0 42.0

Jul 2021

25.7 21.2 13.3 39.8

Aug 2021

24.9 23.1 13.9 38.1

Sep 2021

29.2 22.5 13.0 35.3

Oct 2021

28.3 25.7 13.4 32.5

Nov 2021

29.6 24.9 13.1 32.4

Dec 2021

31.2 25.1 12.5 31.3

Jan 2022

37.5 24.5 12.9 25.2

Feb 2022

33.6 28.0 11.6 26.7

Mar 2022

38.3 28.4 10.2 23.0

Apr 2022

38.6 27.2 10.7 23.5

May 2022

34.8 30.2 12.7 22.2

Jun 2022

38.3 25.9 12.7 23.0

Jul 2022

36.2 32.3 12.1 19.4

Aug 2022

36.1 30.4 13.3 20.3

Sep 2022

37.5 28.2 14.9 19.4

Oct 2022

36.8 30.1 12.8 20.3

Nov 2022

37.8 27.9 13.3 20.9

Dec 2022

38.6 28.5 14.2 18.6

Jan 2023

33.8 31.3 16.0 18.9

Feb 2023

38.0 30.8 13.6 17.6

Mar 2023

38.7 29.7 13.5 18.1

Apr 2023

33.2 34.0 13.7 19.1

May 2023

34.7 31.2 15.1 19.0

Jun 2023

35.1 30.9 15.1 18.9

Jul 2023

33.8 29.6 16.3 20.3

Aug 2023

34.2 30.1 14.4 21.3

Sep 2023

32.3 32.1 16.2 19.4

Oct 2023

35.2 28.3 15.9 20.5

Nov 2023

33.0 32.8 15.5 18.6

Dec 2023

34.7 28.3 16.9 20.1

Jan 2024

34.9 30.1 14.3 20.7

Feb 2024

36.2 30.0 15.0 18.8

Mar 2024

34.4 30.8 15.3 19.5

Apr 2024

35.6 31.1 13.7 19.6

May 2024

35.3 29.4 14.7 20.6

Jun 2024

31.1 30.8 15.6 22.4

Jul 2024

32.9 30.3 15.1 21.6

Aug 2024

34.3 28.2 16.0 21.5

Sep 2024

31.1 28.9 16.5 23.5

Oct 2024

30.0 29.6 17.5 22.9

Nov 2024

30.8 28.8 17.3 23.1

Dec 2024

31.2 28.9 17.5 22.4

Jan 2025

33.5 28.3 17.0 21.1

Feb 2025

33.5 30.9 14.8 20.9

Note: Data are seasonally adjusted. Totals may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

The share of people unemployed for 5 to 14 weeks in February 2025 was 30.9 percent. Those unemployed for 15 to 26 weeks accounted for 14.8 percent in February 2025, while those unemployed for 27 weeks or more accounted for 20.9 percent.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see “The Employment Situation — February 2025.” We also have more charts on employment and unemployment. Duration of unemployment is the length of time, in weeks, that people classified as unemployed have been continuously looking for work.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 33.5 percent of people unemployed in February 2025 were jobless for five weeks or less at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/33-5-percent-of-people-unemployed-in-february-2025-were-jobless-for-five-weeks-or-less.htm (visited March 22, 2025).

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