More than 1.3 million people leave the U.S. labor force over the past year
Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to 203,000 for the week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, down from a revised 207,000 the prior week. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, ticked up slightly to 205,500.
Claims for jobless benefits are monitored as an early proxy for layoffs because weekly filings arrive ahead of monthly employment data. For the past year, applications have mostly held in a range of roughly 200,000 to 230,000 a week — a band the Associated Press described as historically low.
Separate economic data provide a fuller picture of the labor market. FRED’s verified unemployment rate figure is 4.1% as of Aug. 27, 2026. The broader U-6 underemployment rate, which covers discouraged workers and those working involuntarily part-time, stood at 7.9%. The labor force participation rate — the share of the civilian population either employed or actively seeking work — was 61.4%.
Labor force context
In its coverage of the weekly report, the Associated Press wrote that more than 1.3 million people have left the U.S. labor force over the past year. The wire service attributed the contraction to what it described as President Donald Trump’s “immigration crackdown” and to the ongoing retirement of baby boomers, and said the reduction in job seekers partly accounted for the 4.1% rate.