Unemployment Rate in 2020

The Misery Index in 2020

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 2020 stacks up:

So in 2020, a 8.05% jobless rate sat alongside 1.23% inflation, for a combined Misery Index of about 9.3. For the other half of that figure — what consumer prices did and what 2020's money is worth today — see inflation in 2020.

What happened to jobs in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden, massive spike in unemployment as large parts of the economy shut down.

In 2020, the unemployment rate ran at 8.05%, up from 3.67% in 2019. That made it the 5th-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 3.85 points.

How 2020 compared

Across the full 1991–2025 record, unemployment has averaged about 5.68%, so 2020 ran above that long-run norm. Within the 2020s, the jobless rate averaged roughly 4.82%, and 2020 sat above its own decade. Five years earlier, in 2015, the rate was 5.28%. The following year, 2021, unemployment eased to 5.35%.

The labor market and borrowing costs move together: a weak jobs market often pushes the Fed to cut rates, while a hot one invites hikes. See what mortgage rates did in 2020 for another angle on the same economy.

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.