Unemployment Rate in 2021

The Misery Index in 2021

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 2021 stacks up:

So in 2021, a 5.35% jobless rate sat alongside 4.70% inflation, for a combined Misery Index of about 10.1. For the other half of that figure — what consumer prices did and what 2021's money is worth today — see inflation in 2021.

What happened to jobs in 2021

Unemployment fell rapidly as the economy reopened and employers rehired.

In 2021, the unemployment rate ran at 5.35%, down from 8.05% in 2020. That made it the 18th-highest of the 35 years on record, and below the long-run average of 5.68%. For comparison, unemployment sits at about 4.2% today — a gap of 1.15 points.

How 2021 compared

Across the full 1991–2025 record, unemployment has averaged about 5.68%, so 2021 ran below that long-run norm. Within the 2020s, the jobless rate averaged roughly 4.82%, and 2021 sat above its own decade. Five years earlier, in 2016, the rate was 4.87%. The following year, 2022, unemployment eased to 3.65%.

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 2021 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.