April 2026 Unemployment Data–the Full Count
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 4.3%* [ANALYSES by EXPERTS]
| White |
3.7%
|
| African American |
7.3%
|
| Hispanic |
5.0%
|
| Asian¹ |
3.3%
|
| Persons with a disability¹ |
7.2%
|
| Men 20 years and over |
4.0%
|
| Women 20 years and over |
3.9%
|
| Teens (16-19 years) |
14.4%
|
| Black teens |
22.7%
|
| Officially unemployed |
7.4 million
|
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working part-time because can’t find a full-time job: | 4.9 million |
| People who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics (of which 1.8 million¹ searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the reference week.) | 6.1 million |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation News Release For BLS State and area data, see Geographic Information and State Unemployment Summary and Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows, Seasonally Adjusted
*See Uncommon Sense #4 and How the BLS Measures Unemployment for an explanation of the unemployment measures.
¹Not seasonally adjusted. Marginally Attached workers want work and are available, have looked for work within the last 12 months, but not during “the 4 weeks preceding the survey.”
WORKING BUT IN POVERTY: In addition, millions more were working full-time, year-round, yet earned less than the official poverty level for a family of four. In 2023, that number was 16.3 million, 13.4 percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current Population Survey, Bur. of the Census). The poverty threshold in 2023 was $31,200 for a family of four.
HOW MANY JOBS ARE AVAILABLE? In April 2026, the latest month available, the number of job openings was 7.6 million. (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, June 2, 2026). Thus there are 2.4 job-wanters for each available job. See also JOLTS Experimental State Estimates
HOW UNEMPLOYMENT IS MEASURED: Unemployment is measured as a percent of the civilian non-institutional labor force. The unemployed are those who have not worked at least an hour during the week of record, when a sample survey is taken, and who have looked for work during that month. The labor force includes those 16 years old and older who are either working or unemployed. It excludes those in institutions, like nursing homes or prisons, and those in the military. The latter two groups would in all likelihood experience high unemployment. Merely adding the incarcerated would add about one-half percentage point to the unemployment rate.
How does Unemployment Data – the Full Count differ from the BLS U–6 concept (see U6RATE or U6RATENSA on FRED), Total Unemployed, Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force, Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons, as a Percent of the Civilian Labor Force Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force (U-6)?
For example the April 2026 values for U–6 and the NJFAC value appear to be substantially different. Please explain the difference. Thank you very much for your consideration.
Our rate differs from U-6 in its inclusion of all those “not in the labor force but want a job [NILF].” U-6 includes only some of these–the marginally attached–i.e., wants a job, available, had looked in the prior 12 months but not in the 4 weeks preceding the BLS survey.
Ours includes others included in “not in the labor force who currently want a job” as it counts those who want work but had not looked because they weren’t able to work for a variety of reasons, including lack of child care or transportation, or a disability. We consider that all these reasons for not looking are amenable to public policy. For example, people working at near minimum wage jobs are hard-pressed to pay expenses of transportation by car, but should be served by public transportation. Many of the disabled could be gainfully employed by some accommodation to their problem. Child care is increasingly recognized as a social responsibility. Thanks for your interest in this important measure.