U.S. Unadjusted Unemployment Rate at 7.9% in September

U.S. Unadjusted Unemployment Rate at 7.9% in September

U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, was 7.9% for the month of September, unchanged from 7.9% measured in mid-September but down slightly from 8.1% for the month of August. Gallup’s seasonally adjusted September unemployment rate was 8.1%, unchanged from August.

These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews, conducted by landline and cell phone, with approximately 30,000 Americans throughout the month — 68.2% of whom are active in the workforce. Gallup calculates a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate by applying the adjustment factor the government used for the same month in the previous year. The government made no adjustment to the August numbers last year, but adjusted September’s up by 0.2 percentage points, which accounts for the flat seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September despite the decline in the unadjusted rate.

The 7.9% unadjusted rate is the lowest Gallup has recorded since it began collecting employment data in January 2010. It is also significantly lower than the 8.6% rate measured in September 2011.

Underemployment, as measured without seasonal adjustment, was 16.5% in September — also the lowest rate Gallup has recorded since it started collecting unemployment data in 2010. The September reading reflects more than a half-point drop since the end of August, and a nearly two-point improvement from the 18.3% measured in September 2011.

Gallup’s U.S. underemployment measure combines the percentage who are unemployed with the percentage of those working part time but looking for full-time work. Gallup does not apply a seasonal adjustment to underemployment.