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Civilian Unemployment Rate
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Civilian Unemployment Rate
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Diagrams/Data
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Diagrams and Data
Explore further current and historical data for the civilian unemployment rate and how it relates to real GDP, the Consumer Price Index, and the money supply (M2) .
Current and Historical Data for the Civilian Unemployment Rate.
Review the current and historical data for the civilian unemployment rate by month at Economagic.com.
Economic Growth Rate (Relative to Same Period Last Year) and the Unemployment Rate
One can see in the diagram and table below that the business cycle of expansion, peak, contraction, and trough expresses itself clearly and prominently in the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate falls during the growth period of the business cycle, and rises during periods of contraction. The unemployment rate was slow to respond to the economic recovery following the 2001 recession. This may have been associated with rising labor productivity and the “offshoring” of U.S. jobs to lower-wage countries. The unemployment rate has fallen since the 1st quarter of 2003, while GDP growth is generally strong.
Economagic.com provides a more complete collection of data for the following: Unemployment Rate I Real GDP
CPI Inflation Rate (Relative To Same Period Last Year) and the Unemployment Rate
This diagram clearly illustrates the pattern of inflation and unemployment during the business cycle. During recessions inflation rates fall while unemployment rates rise. In the recovery period immediately following each of the three recessions since 1980, the inflation rate continued to decline, while the trend in unemployment rates reversed from increase to decrease.
Economagic.com provides a more complete collection of data for the following:
Unemployment Rate I Consumer Price Index
M2 Money Supply Growth Rate (Relative To Same Period Last Year) and the Unemployment Rate
The Fed has some influence over the money supply (monetary policy), and uses this influence to dampen the extremes of the business cycle. When recessions are detected, the Fed tends to increase the money supply, while the Fed tends to slow the rate of money supply growth during periods of rapid economic growth when inflation is a concern. An exception was the recession in 1981, a time of “stagflation” when there were also high rates of inflation, and the Fed purposely chose to hold down money supply growth (and induce a sharper recession than would otherwise occur) to slay inflation. From the diagram one can also see that there tends to be a lag between implementation of an expansionary monetary policy, marked by accelerated growth in M2 when a recession is detected (e.g., 1991, 2001), and subsequent sustained declines in the unemployment rate (e.g., 1993, 2004).
Economagic.com provides a more complete collection of data for the following:
Unemployment Rate I Money Supply (M2)©2005 South-Western. All Rights Reserved webmaster | DISCLAIMER
