The US Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a monthly 'jobs report' that tracks the unemployment rate, the number of Americans currently on payroll, and more.

The monthly US employment report is eagerly anticipated by Wall Street and has significant impacts on markets.

The unemployment rate is calculated using a monthly survey that the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses to identify those who are employed or actively looking for work.

The clearest sign of a recession is a steady increase in job losses and high unemployment.

Explore an interactive tool that reveals why Americans are unemployed—almost 30% of unemployed Americans ages 25 to 54 cited being laid off as the reason for their unemployment, for instance.

Explore an interactive tool that provides regularly updated information on labor market outcomes of recent college graduates.

The US federal government employs roughly 3 million people

Tracking began in 1939, when the federal workforce consisted of about 1 million people. The total peaked in 1990 at 3.4 million, and hit a recent low in 2014 at 2.7 million.

Interest rates have historically been an indicator of the US economy's overall health.

The Federal Reserve follows the health of the US economy by tracking the money supply

That includes all of the physical and electronic money in circulation. It tracks not only US coins and bills, but also the money that moves through bank deposits. The Fed uses metrics called trackers to follow different types of transactions through the money supply.

Explore the most common jobs for Americans, broken down by age and gender.

Over 1.9 million Americans—more than a quarter of those unemployed—have been classified as 'long-term' unemployed in a given month in 2026, meaning they've been out of work for at least 27 weeks.

Housing 'starts'— new constructions—signal the health and future of real estate

The Federal Reserve Economic Data, or FRED, tracks monthly “housing starts,” the number of new residential construction projects being built. Some argue this data can serve as an economic barometer.

Explore a breakdown of the US gross domestic product, including GDP's growth over time, the GDP of individual states, and which industries contribute the most to US GDP.

Experts recommend preparing your finances accordingly if you're expecting to be laid off soon, taking actions such as looking into the cost of replacing employer-sponsored benefits like healthcare.

The Sahm rule attempts to predict recessions based on unemployment trends.

A recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP, but in practice, these economic phenomena are more complex.

Unemployment is generally sorted into four different types: frictional, cyclical, structural, and institutional.

Earnings season—the time period at the end of each quarter when many public companies release their earnings reports—offers a chance for investors and Wall Street analysts to evaluate how a wide range of companies are performing at once.

There's no single definition of an economic recession, though recessions are commonly identified by two consecutive quarters of shrinking gross domestic product.

Unemployment benefits are calculated as a percentage of a worker's average weekly wages over a recent base period.

The 50 best (and highest paying) jobs in America

Here are the 50 Best Jobs in America, according to Glassdoor. Where does your job fall? This report ranks jobs according to each job’s Glassdoor Job Score, determined by combining three factors: number of job openings, salary, and overall job satisfaction rating.

COVID-19's shock to employment rates sparked some economists to fear deflation

COVID-19 simultaneously disrupted the supply chain and the labor market. Since the unemployment rate had hit record highs, some economists were worried that the supply chain would recover before the labor market. If that had happened, businesses would have been producing goods, but no one would have been able to buy them because they wouldn't have the disposable income to do so.

The latest data on US motherhood

Here’s a snapshot of what motherhood looks like in the U.S. today, drawn from government data and Pew Research Center surveys. The list includes seven headline statistics with visual graphs, including the average age of a mother's first childbirth...

The US youth unemployment rate jumped from 6.6% in 2023 to 10.4% in 2025.

25% of US households had no regular income as of 2024

Some states had higher shares of no-income households than others: West Virginia, for instance, had a national high of 34% of households with no income. These states tend to have older populations, higher rates of disability, and lower median incomes overall. In such contexts, a larger portion of households rely on non-earned income sources or report no income during the survey period.

The current federal budget, deficit, and debt, in charts

The US Treasury regularly publishes updated data on the federal budget, and this site hosts visualizations of that data. See reports on spending, revenues, deficits, and where the national debt stands.

The US has been through 34 recessions since 1854

From 1855 to 2020, the average US recession lasted for an average of 17 months. But in the 20th and 21st centuries, the average recession length has shortened, decreasing to 14 months.

US state economies compared to entire countries

This map compares US state economies by their gross domestic product to that of a similarly sized country. For instance, California has the largest state economy in the US, with a GDP nearly equal to that of India, the fifth-largest economy in the world. Click here to see how the rest of the states compare.

Periodically, the Federal Open Market Committee decides whether to raise, hold, or lower the federal funds rate

The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which banks lend their excess funds through the Fed. This influences what banks are willing to pay consumers for their deposits in savings and CD accounts. Typically, the higher the federal funds rate, the higher the interest rates on CDs.

No institution wields more power in US finance than the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the US—but opinion polls indicate that most Americans don't know what it does.

Many economists see Black Friday as a litmus test for consumer confidence

Some investors and analysts look at Black Friday’s sales numbers as a way to gauge the overall health of the retail industry—and consumer confidence at large. However, others don’t believe Black Friday results have a particularly significant impact on markets, arguing that the figures only cause short-term gains or losses.

Student debt has a widespread economic impact

Student debt is no different than the big rent or car payment that comes out of someone’s paycheck every month: Its presence affects that household’s purchasing power. Multiply that household by the 43 million Americans who had outstanding federal loan debt in September 2023, and student debt’s impact becomes considerable.

Explore an interactive chart that shows peoples' annual salaries by occupation

The median salary for full-time workers in the United States was roughly $49.5K in 2024. An interactive chart details how salaries differ by occupation.

The US unemployment rate soared to over 24% during the Great Depression, the highest in recorded history.

The average American household spends $6,545 per month

While the median household income is $84K, the typical bank account balance is $8K.

Investors collectively own $28T in US Treasury securities

The 10-year Treasury yield is a central measure of the health of the economy, shaping how much both the government pays on its debt and the cost of borrowing for the private sector. This explainer provides stats and explainers on the important metric.

See every time the minimum wage has been raised.

Watch this video to learn how to read a company's earnings report, the documents that reveal key details about a public company's recent financial performance.

The Federal Reserve's decisions can impact your money

Car loans, mortgages, business investments—these and more can be drastically impacted by the adjustment of the Federal Reserve’s federal funds rate. Alternatively, savers can earn higher, low-risk yields on their savings when the Fed’s target rate is higher.

The most common job in each US state in 2024

In 15 states, the most common job by number of employees is "fast food worker." Other most common jobs include cashiers and nurses.

Consumer spending accounts for 70% of America's gross domestic product.

The two-day marathon meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee follow a logical process of information sharing

In a stately room in the Eccles Building in Washington, DC, the 17 participants of the FOMC and their aides report on economic conditions and decide monetary policy.

Explore weekly and historical maps of drought conditions across the US, alongside regional summaries of drought conditions, with the US Drought Monitor.

Tracking where people moved in the US in 2022

The latest data from the US Postal Service's change of address request system shows a decline in migration in 2022. See where people are moving and where they are leaving with this data breakdown.

How is credit reporting regulated in the US?

While the three main credit bureaus and the credit scoring companies aren't government entities, they are subject to certain US government regulations, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Explore US public health data

This resource tracks key US health metrics, including mortality causes, child survival rates, and life expectancy comparisons, to inform future health improvements, with regularly updated global estimates.

Roughly 75% of Americans report feeling okay financially

Since 2022, fewer Americans report feeling worse off financially, moving from 35% in 2022 to 28% in 2025. Likewise, the number of Americans who reported feeling better about the economy is up 4% from 2022. More than 90% of Americans cite price increases as their biggest financial concern.

Some argue that credit reporting promotes economic inequality in the US

Although today's credit scoring system is much more objective than, say, the credit assessment system of the 1700s, some argue there's still room for improvement, with critics saying the current system is still discriminatory. For example, while mortgage payments have long been automatically reported to credit bureaus, rent payments (the primary housing expense for most lower-income Americans) historically haven't been reported unless a payment was missed.

The film industry is responsible for more than 200K jobs in California

Hollywood films generate roughly $49B for the US economy each year. In California, the film industry provides more than 200,000 jobs. Industry employees were paid more than $42B in wages in 2022.

The federal minimum wage in the US has been $7.25 per hour since 2009—making this the longest the US has gone without a minimum wage increase since 1938.

Advertising-related activity may have supported roughly one in five American jobs as of 2024

That’s according to a study commissioned by The Advertising Coalition, conducted by S&P Global Market Intelligence, which also found that the advertising industry powered more than 20% of total US economic output at the time.