Chart 1-2. The unemployment rate is down from its most
recent peak in June 2003
Percent
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions. Data are seasonally adjusted.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Chart 1-2. The unemployment rate is down from its most
recent peak in June 2003
• The unemployment rate rose from 4.3 percent at the onset of the most recent
recession in March 2001 (as designated by the National Bureau of Economic
Research) to 6.3 percent in June 2003. It had declined to 4.9 percent by
December 2005.
• At the onset of the recession in March 2001, some 11 percent of unemployed
persons had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer. This share of longterm unemployed rose to nearly 24 percent of all unemployed persons by
March 2004 before declining to about 18 percent by the end of 2005.
2