Unemployment Rate Key Terms

Some key terms for examining the U.S. unemployment rate

By J. Stoltzfus, writer/programmer LOCAL CITIZEN

Many businesses watch the U.S. unemployment rate carefully. The unemployment rate is a significant indicator of overall economic health, as well as a harbinger of some industry-related trends. Also, businesses forced to lay off workers have to pay more in unemployment insurance, which affects their bottom line. Knowing how the unemployment rate works can help a business navigate changes as its leaders deal with any given situation. The following unemployment rate key terms will get you started.

Economic cycles

Economic cycles play a key role in the changes in an unemployment rate and other national statistics. Looking at economic cycles will help business leaders avoid reading too much into an unemployment statistic.
Try: See more on economic cycles at InvestorWords.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, an arm of the U.S. Department of Labor, is responsible for conducting government research on unemployment rates and other similar statistics. Much of the information available on the unemployment rate comes through this source.
Try: See more on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on its website.

Current Population Survey

The Current Population Survey examines households to see who's unemployed and other salient aspects of work force status. It's a cross section of the population that provides a kind of average used to calculate unemployment statistics.
Try: Find out more about the Current Population Survey at this BLS page.

Regional unemployment rate and Local Area Unemployment Statistics

A regional unemployment rate provides businesses with more concrete studies of how the economy is doing in their immediate area. The Local Area Unemployment Statistics part of the BLS website addresses this with key data on unemployment by region.
Try: See details on LAUS statistics.

Salary trends and the National Compensation Survey

Salary trends are averages of professional salaries that can provide businesses with more information about factors of the unemployment rate and the general economy. To this end, the BLS has created a National Compensation Survey to show businesses info on salary trends, as well as benefit incidence, for providing insight on how and when benefits are created in the job market.
Try: See more on the National Compensation Survey.

Employment criteria

For a look at how the unemployment rate is calculated, it may also help to look at specific unemployment criteria, as well as examining seasonal factors.
Try: Find more on both of these concepts at this BLS FAQ.