Work and Unemployment Statistics

The unemployment rate is one of the most watched numbers in any economy, but its definition is precise. Under the International Labour Organization standard, a person is unemployed only if they have no job, are available to work and are actively looking. People who have given up searching, known as discouraged workers, are counted as outside the labor force, so the unemployment rate can fall even when job prospects worsen.

Economists also track the labor force participation rate and underemployment, such as part-timers who want full-time work. In low-income countries the unemployment rate can be surprisingly low because few people can afford not to work, so informal and low-productivity employment are better measures of hardship. Unemployment has frictional, structural and cyclical causes, and distinguishing them guides policy: retraining helps structural unemployment, while stimulus targets cyclical downturns.