What was the Unemployment Rate When Obama Took Office?

February 2013 jobs numbers will be released late this month, on Friday, March 8th.  Please check back then for all reports and updates.  

In the meantime, please click HERE for all published jobs reports and updates for 2011, 2012, and 2013 to date. 

Private, government jobs gained and lost month by month 2011, 2012, 2013

          

What was the unemployment rate when Obama took office?  7.7%  
How high did it go?  10.1%   (Details below)

The Unemployment Rate when Obama took office:

• For the record, when Obama took office in January 2009, the "official" unemployment rate in seasonally adjusted numbers was 7.7%, with 11,919,000 people reported themselves as unemployed and actively looking. 
•  In "raw" numbers not adjusted for seasonal variance, the unemployment rate was 8.5% with 13,009,000 people reporting themselves as unemployed and actively looking for work.

The Unemployment Rate at its Peak: 

• At the "trough" (bottom in terms of jobs) of the recession in late 2009/early 2010, the "official" unemployment rate in seasonally adjusted numbers was 10.1% in October 2009 with 15,612,000 people (out of a labor force of 153,854,000) reporting themselves as unemployed.  
• In "raw" numbers not adjusted for seasonal variance, the unemployment rate reached a peak of 10.6% in January 2010 with 16,147,000 (out of a labor force of 152,957,000) reporting themselves as unemployed and actively looking for work.

The Unemployment Rate Now:

• Now, in May 2011, the "official" unemployment rate in seasonally adjusted numbers is 9.1% with 13,914,000 (out of a labor force of 153,693,000) unemployed. 
• In unadjusted "raw" numbers, however, the unemployment rate is 8.7%.

To Summarize:

• Using seasonally adjusted numbers, the unemployment rate was 7.7% (and rising quickly) when Obama took office, and it is 9.1% today.  
• Using nonseasonally adjusted numbers, the unemployment rate was already 8.5% when Obama took office, and it is down to 8.7% today. 

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More info:
Did McDonald's create half of the new jobs in May?
Spring Job Growth: Not That Bad?
My Articles about Employment and Unemployment

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