Unemployment rate edges down in November 2012
December 11, 2012
The unemployment rate edged down from 7.9 percent in October to 7.7 percent in November. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.0 million, changed little.
| Month | Number of unemployed | Unemployment rate |
|---|---|---|
Nov 2011 | 13,323,000 | 8.7 |
Dec 2011 | 13,097,000 | 8.5 |
Jan 2012 | 12,758,000 | 8.3 |
Feb 2012 | 12,806,000 | 8.3 |
Mar 2012 | 12,673,000 | 8.2 |
Apr 2012 | 12,500,000 | 8.1 |
May 2012 | 12,720,000 | 8.2 |
Jun 2012 | 12,749,000 | 8.2 |
Jul 2012 | 12,794,000 | 8.3 |
Aug 2012 | 12,544,000 | 8.1 |
Sep 2012 | 12,088,000 | 7.8 |
Oct 2012 | 12,258,000 | 7.9 |
Nov 2012 | 12,029,000 | 7.7 |
| Duration of unemployment | November 2011 | November 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of unemployed | Percent distribution | Number of unemployed | Percent distribution | |
Less than 5 weeks | 2,510,000 | 19.1 | 2,577,000 | 21.6 |
5 to 14 weeks | 2,896,000 | 22.0 | 2,747,000 | 23.0 |
15 to 26 weeks | 2,087,000 | 15.8 | 1,819,000 | 15.2 |
27 weeks and over | 5,680,000 | 43.1 | 4,786,000 | 40.1 |
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was 4.8 million in November 2012. These individuals accounted for 40.1 percent of the unemployed.
In November 2011, there were 5.7 million persons classified as long-term unemployed, accounting for 43.1 percent of the unemployed.
These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — November 2012," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-12-2366.SUGGESTED CITATION
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Editor's Desk, Unemployment rate edges down in November 2012 on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2012/ted_20121211.htm (visited June 19, 2013).
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