The unemployment rate is often misunderstood as simply reflecting the number of people who have filed for unemployment insurance benefits. However, many unemployed individuals do not receive these benefits, and the calculation involves more complex processes.
Two programs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are responsible for producing unemployment figures: the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. The CPS estimates employment status each month using a sample of about 60,000 households across the United States. People are classified as employed if they are working or temporarily away from work; unemployed if they are not working but actively seeking employment or on temporary layoff; and not in the labor force if they are neither working nor looking for work.
The national unemployment rate is determined by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by the total labor force, which includes both employed and unemployed people. Those not in the labor force are excluded from this calculation.
For state, county, and city-level rates, LAUS uses data from multiple sources because the CPS sample size is insufficient for smaller areas. LAUS applies statistical methods to estimate employment figures at these local levels. For states, it uses a model that incorporates CPS data, Current Employment Statistics (CES), and unemployment insurance claims to distinguish real changes in employment from errors in survey data. At the county level, LAUS combines CES data with other sources such as UI claims and population statistics. City-level estimates rely on county-level data adjusted according to each city’s share of population and jobs.
There is also a distinction between LAUS and CES data: LAUS counts people based on where they live while CES counts jobs based on where work occurs. If someone lives in one state but works in another, their job would be counted differently depending on which dataset is used.
The unemployment rate plays an important role in shaping economic policy decisions within North Carolina. It influences how long individuals can receive unemployment benefits, how federal funds are allocated to workforce programs, and helps policymakers assess local economic health.
Current North Carolina unemployment statistics can be accessed through resources like Demand Driven Data Delivery (D4) system or directly via BLS’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics website.
“Many unemployed individuals don’t receive those benefits, and much more goes on behind the scenes to calculate this important number,” according to information provided by officials familiar with these programs.
