This question is about historic unemployment statistics.

What is the highest unemployment rate in U.S. history?

By Zippia Team - Jun. 29, 2022

The highest unemployment rate in U.S. history was 24.9%. This occurred in the middle of the Great Depression (1933) and has been increasing for a few years. For example, the second-highest unemployment rate in U.S. history was 1932, which saw employment as high as 23.6%.

Of course, the COVID-19 Pandemic has also hit the U.S. hard and caused another historic spike in unemployment. In 2020, unemployment reached 14.7%, which was the highest it'd been since the Great Depression.

What is the highest unemployment rate in U.S. history?

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