U.S. Unemployment Rate Stands at 4.1% for July 2026

Earlier reports

1. Aug 17, 2026, 2:27 p.m. ET

   U.S. Unemployment Rate at 4.1 Percent for July 2026

   The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.1% for the reference period of July 2026, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED.

   That is down 0.1 point from the previous reading of 4.2, a change of -2.4%. Measured against the same point a year earlier, when the rate was 4.1, the change was 0 points, or 0%.

   The reading did not cross any threshold. Prior to this reading, the recorded high in the series was 4.5 and the recorded low was 4.1 — the same level as the current figure. The series is published monthly.

   The same source also lists a cost-of-living adjustment estimate for 2027 of 3.1%. That estimate is incomplete, covering 1 month in, and is listed with a figure of 62 on an average benefit basis of 2000.

   Figures are as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED, at the source URL below.

2. Aug 17, 2026, 12:25 p.m. ET

   U.S. Unemployment Rate Slips to 4.1% in July 2026

   The U.S. unemployment rate — the share of people in the workforce who are out of a job and looking for one — was 4.1% for July 2026, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics distributed through the St. Louis Fed's FRED database and reported by fortune.com. The reading was logged on July 1, 2026.

   The rate is measured every month. It came down from 4.2 the month before, a change of -0.1 percentage point, or -2.4 percent. Compared with a year earlier, when the rate was also 4.1, there was no movement at all: a change of 0, or 0 percent.

   Across the recent run of monthly readings, the highest the rate had reached was 4.5 and the lowest was 4.1. This month's figure ties that low. No round-number threshold was crossed, and the rate remains inside the band it has occupied for months — the drop is small enough that it changes the direction of the line more than the picture of the job market.

   The same records carry a still-unfinished estimate of next year's Social Security cost-of-living increase: 3.1 percent for 2027. That estimate rests on only 1 month of data so far and will move as more months are added. At its current level, it would work out to roughly 62 dollars a month for someone drawing a monthly benefit of 2000 dollars.

3. Aug 17, 2026, 12:13 p.m. ETFirst report

   U.S. Unemployment Rate Slips to 4.1% in July 2026, Matching Its Low for the Year

   The U.S. unemployment rate — the share of people in the labor force who do not have a job and are looking for one — stood at 4.1% in July 2026, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures published through the St. Louis Fed's FRED database and reported by Fortune. The reading is dated July 1, 2026, and the rate is updated once a month.

   That is down from 4.2% a month earlier — a drop of 0.1, or -2.4%.

   It also leaves the rate exactly where it was twelve months ago, when it was likewise 4.1%: a change of 0, or 0%. In between, the rate climbed as high as 4.5% before coming back down to the 4.1% low it now matches. No round-number threshold was crossed; what makes the month notable is only that the rate has returned to the bottom of its range for the year.

   The same Bureau of Labor Statistics figures feed the running estimate of next year's Social Security cost-of-living increase, which currently points to 3.1% for 2027. That estimate is not final — only one month of the data used to calculate it is in, and the figure can move as more months are added. If it held, it would raise a monthly benefit of 2000 by about 62.

Sources

• Trump's grand plan to put American workers first may be backfiring, as U.S.-born unemployment rises and wage growth stalls | Fortunefortune.com
• https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.csv?id=UNRATE

Revision history

1. Version 418 Aug 2026, 12:32current

   Updated story text to reflect official record values verbatim.

2. Version 317 Aug 2026, 15:59

   Removed the phrase "reference period" and all internal field labels ("previous value," "year-over-year change," "COLA estimate," "average benefit basis," "1 month in"); the month is now written plainly as July 2026, matching the record. Added plain-language descriptions of what each figure measures (share of people out of work and looking; the annual Social Security price-linked raise). Named the record explicitly as the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly unemployment record retrieved from FRED. Kept every figure exactly as given (4.1%, -0.1, -2.4%, 0, 0%, 4.2, 4.1, 4.5, 3.1, 62, 2000). Replaced the vague "economic situation remains developing" line with the record's own point that no threshold was crossed. No series identifier appears in the text; it remains only in the cited link.

3. Version 217 Aug 2026, 15:54

   Updated story phrasing to adhere strictly to reporting standards and control token rules.

4. Version 117 Aug 2026, 16:13current

   First published.

5. Version 117 Aug 2026, 18:27current

   First published.

6. Version 117 Aug 2026, 16:25current

   First published.