What is the historical high for the unemployment rate in the post-war period?
The unemployment rate was at a historical high of 10.8% during November-December 1982. The 1981-1982 recession was preceded by a mini-recession from January 1980-July 1980. The 5.6% cycle low of the jobless rate in May 1979 is probably the more appropriate choice versus the 7.2% jobless rate in July 1980 to compute the percentage point increase from the cycle low to the cycle high of the jobless rate in this period. Based on this reasoning, the jobless rate increased 5.2 percentage points in the recessions of the 1980s. Unemployment Rate across Business Cycles What was the high of the unemployment rate in the Great Depression? The civilian unemployment rate was around 25% during several months of 1932-1933 (see chart 2). Chart 2 (c) Northern Trust www.ntrs.
