Unemployment Rate in 1992

The Misery Index in 1992

The Misery Index — a simple gauge coined by economist Arthur Okun — adds the unemployment rate to the inflation rate, on the idea that both eat into household wellbeing at the same time. The higher the sum, the more economic pain a typical household feels. Here's how 1992 stacks up:

So in 1992, a 7.50% jobless rate sat alongside 3.03% inflation, for a combined Misery Index of about 10.5. For the other half of that figure — what consumer prices did and what 1992's money is worth today — see historical inflation rates.

What happened to jobs in 1992

Unemployment stayed elevated in the aftermath of the early-1990s recession before a long expansion slowly brought it down.

In 1992, the unemployment rate ran at 7.50%, up from 6.80% in 1991. That made it the 6th-highest of the 35 years on record, and above the long-run average of 5.68%. For comparison, unemployment sits at about 4.2% today — a gap of 3.30 points.

How 1992 compared

Across the full 1991–2025 record, unemployment has averaged about 5.68%, so 1992 ran above that long-run norm. Within the 1990s, the jobless rate averaged roughly 5.79%, and 1992 sat above its own decade. The following year, 1993, unemployment eased to 6.90%.

This is one year out of the whole story. For the complete history — every year since 1991, the all-time high and the record low, the decade-by-decade view, and what drives unemployment over time — see historical unemployment rates, 1991–today.