Current Population Survey (LNU04032218) · Service occupations, not seasonally adjusted
What is the unemployment rate in service occupations?
The unemployment rate in service occupations was 5.6% in the month ended , up 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier.
Unemployment rate, service occupations, not seasonally adjusted, each month
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Unemployment rate, service occupations, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Each point is one month of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.
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Inspect and compare dates
The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".
| Measure | Latest | The month before | A year earlier | Five years earlier | Ten years earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | |||||
| Unemployment rate, service occupations | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.4% | 6.4% | 5.9% |
| Change over a year | +0.2 pts | −0.2 pts | +0.7 pts | −5.6 pts | −0.7 pts |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
Observed .
Right now
The unemployment rate in service occupations was 5.6% in September 2026, the highest since February 2026.
Over a year it is up 0.2 percentage points (ours).
ChangeOurs
| Period | Then | Change |
|---|---|---|
| One month | 5.5%, the rate in | +0.1 percentage points |
| Three months | 4.9%, the rate in | +0.7 percentage points |
| Twelve months | 5.4%, the rate in | +0.2 percentage points |
| Five years | 6.4%, the rate in | −0.8 percentage points |
| Ten years | 5.9%, the rate in | −0.3 percentage points |
In historyOurs
The unemployment rate in service occupations of 5.6% in was higher than in 105 of the 319 other months since , the same in 5 and lower in 209.
Highest since : 27.2% in . Lowest since : 3.8% in .
AverageOurs
Average since : 6.84% (ours, a plain mean of the 320 months).
ComparedOurs
Over a year the unemployment rate in service occupations is up 0.2 percentage points, which ranks 6 of the 29 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.
The table sets the unemployment rate in service occupations beside the occupation groups on the unemployment by occupation page, by the change over a year in each one's newest month.
Understanding the unemployment rate in service occupations
Where it stands today
The unemployment rate in service occupations was 5.6% in September 2026.
What does the unemployment rate in service occupations measure?
Service occupations are health care support, protective service (such as police officers and firefighters), food preparation and serving, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, and personal care and service. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates it each month from the Current Population Survey, a survey of households, and publishes it, not seasonally adjusted, in the Employment Situation report (table A-13).
Read more
What 500metrics adds: the change over a year, the highest and lowest value since the series begins, and how the change over a year compares with the other lines of the unemployment by occupation page.
The numbers behind the chart
What was the unemployment rate in service occupations in each month?The last ten years, 119 months, newest first; the chart and the file have every month since Jan 2000
| Month | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| 5.6% | +0.2 pts | |
| 5.5% | −0.2 pts | |
| 5.2% | +0.1 pts | |
| 4.9% | 0.0 pts | |
| 5.0% | +0.2 pts | |
| 4.8% | +0.2 pts | |
| 5.4% | −0.1 pts | |
| 6.0% | −0.3 pts | |
| 5.5% | −0.6 pts | |
| 5.0% | −0.1 pts | |
| 5.3% | +0.2 pts | |
| 5.4% | +0.7 pts | |
| 5.7% | +0.7 pts | |
| 5.1% | 0.0 pts | |
| 4.9% | −0.1 pts | |
| 4.8% | −0.2 pts | |
| 4.6% | +0.4 pts | |
| 5.5% | +1.0 pts | |
| 6.3% | +1.2 pts | |
| 6.1% | +0.9 pts | |
| 5.1% | +0.7 pts | |
| 5.1% | +0.9 pts | |
| 5.3% | +0.9 pts | |
| 4.7% | +0.6 pts |
Show 95 more rows
| Month | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| 5.0% | +0.2 pts | |
| 5.1% | +0.4 pts | |
| 5.0% | +0.7 pts | |
| 5.0% | +0.4 pts | |
| 4.2% | +0.1 pts | |
| 4.5% | −0.1 pts | |
| 5.1% | +0.2 pts | |
| 5.2% | −0.1 pts | |
| 4.4% | −0.2 pts | |
| 4.2% | −0.2 pts | |
| 4.4% | +0.2 pts | |
| 4.1% | −0.3 pts | |
| 4.8% | −0.1 pts | |
| 4.7% | +0.3 pts | |
| 4.3% | −0.2 pts | |
| 4.6% | +0.4 pts | |
| 4.1% | −0.3 pts | |
| 4.6% | −0.7 pts | |
| 4.9% | −0.6 pts | |
| 5.3% | −1.4 pts | |
| 4.6% | −1.0 pts | |
| 4.4% | −1.2 pts | |
| 4.2% | −2.1 pts | |
| 4.4% | −2.0 pts | |
| 4.9% | −2.6 pts | |
| 4.4% | −3.0 pts | |
| 4.5% | −3.4 pts | |
| 4.2% | −3.4 pts | |
| 4.4% | −3.6 pts | |
| 5.3% | −4.5 pts | |
| 5.5% | −4.8 pts | |
| 6.7% | −4.7 pts | |
| 5.6% | −5.6 pts | |
| 5.6% | −4.2 pts | |
| 6.3% | −4.1 pts | |
| 6.4% | −5.6 pts | |
| 7.5% | −5.9 pts | |
| 7.4% | −8.8 pts | |
| 7.9% | −10.8 pts | |
| 7.6% | −16.0 pts | |
| 8.0% | −19.2 pts | |
| 9.8% | +3.5 pts | |
| 10.3% | +5.7 pts | |
| 11.4% | +6.7 pts | |
| 11.2% | +6.9 pts | |
| 9.8% | +5.7 pts | |
| 10.4% | +6.0 pts | |
| 12.0% | +8.2 pts | |
| 13.4% | +9.3 pts | |
| 16.2% | +11.7 pts | |
| 18.7% | +14.5 pts | |
| 23.6% | +19.6 pts | |
| 27.2% | +23.2 pts | |
| 6.3% | +1.1 pts | |
| 4.6% | −0.7 pts | |
| 4.7% | −0.8 pts | |
| 4.3% | −0.4 pts | |
| 4.1% | 0.0 pts | |
| 4.4% | −0.1 pts | |
| 3.8% | −0.5 pts | |
| 4.1% | −0.5 pts | |
| 4.5% | −0.6 pts | |
| 4.2% | −0.8 pts | |
| 4.0% | −0.3 pts | |
| 4.0% | −0.4 pts | |
| 5.2% | 0.0 pts | |
| 5.3% | −0.1 pts | |
| 5.5% | −0.4 pts | |
| 4.7% | −0.5 pts | |
| 4.1% | −0.8 pts | |
| 4.5% | −0.6 pts | |
| 4.3% | −0.6 pts | |
| 4.6% | −0.7 pts | |
| 5.1% | 0.0 pts | |
| 5.0% | −0.3 pts | |
| 4.3% | −1.1 pts | |
| 4.4% | −0.7 pts | |
| 5.2% | −0.5 pts | |
| 5.4% | −1.3 pts | |
| 5.9% | −0.4 pts | |
| 5.2% | −0.1 pts | |
| 4.9% | −0.7 pts | |
| 5.1% | −1.0 pts | |
| 4.9% | −1.0 pts | |
| 5.3% | −0.3 pts | |
| 5.1% | −0.3 pts | |
| 5.3% | −0.4 pts | |
| 5.4% | 0.0 pts | |
| 5.1% | −0.3 pts | |
| 5.7% | −0.8 pts | |
| 6.7% | +0.2 pts | |
| 6.3% | −0.1 pts | |
| 5.3% | −1.4 pts | |
| 5.6% | −0.9 pts | |
| 6.1% | −0.4 pts |
How does it compare with the occupation groups on the unemployment by occupation page?Ranked by the change over a year
| Series | Month | Value | Change over a year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media | 6.6% | +2.6 pts | 1 | |
| Business and financial operations | 3.4% | +0.9 pts | 2 | |
| Protective service | 3.1% | +0.8 pts | 3 | |
| Construction and extraction | 4.3% | +0.5 pts | 4 | |
| Healthcare support | 4.8% | +0.5 pts | 4 | |
| Food preparation and serving | 7.6% | +0.2 pts | 6 | |
| Healthcare practitioner and technical | 1.7% | +0.2 pts | 6 | |
| Service occupations (this page) | 5.6% | +0.2 pts | 6 | |
| Management, business and financial | 2.2% | +0.1 pts | 9 | |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance | 5.1% | 0.0 pts | 10 | |
| Installation, maintenance and repair | 2.6% | 0.0 pts | 10 | |
| Management, professional and related | 2.5% | 0.0 pts | 10 | |
| Natural resources and construction | 3.7% | 0.0 pts | 10 | |
| Legal | 1.0% | −0.2 pts | 14 | |
| Professional and related | 2.6% | −0.2 pts | 14 | |
| Education, training and library | 2.7% | −0.3 pts | 16 | |
| Management | 1.6% | −0.4 pts | 17 | |
| Personal care and service | 5.3% | −0.4 pts | 17 | |
| Production and transportation | 4.8% | −0.4 pts | 17 | |
| Transportation and material moving | 5.1% | −0.4 pts | 17 | |
| Production | 4.2% | −0.5 pts | 21 | |
| Computer and mathematical | 3.3% | −0.6 pts | 22 | |
| Community and social services | 1.8% | −0.8 pts | 23 | |
| Architecture and engineering | 2.0% | −0.9 pts | 24 | |
| Office and administrative support | 3.5% | −1.0 pts | 25 | |
| Sales and office | 3.4% | −1.2 pts | 26 | |
| Sales and related | 3.2% | −1.6 pts | 27 | |
| Life, physical and social science | 1.6% | −1.7 pts | 28 | |
| Farming, fishing and forestry | 4.2% | −3.2 pts | 29 |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite
What this number cannot tell you
- Not seasonally adjusted: compare a month with the same month a year before, not with the month before. The rate moves with the seasons, and BLS does not remove that movement from this series.
- The rate comes from a survey of households, so each month's value carries sampling error, which is larger for a small group; BLS's technical note in the Employment Situation gives its size.
- An unemployed person is placed in the occupation of the last job. The rate is the number unemployed that way as a share of the occupation's labor force: the people employed in it plus the unemployed who last worked in it. People who have never worked are in no occupation.
- Service occupations hold the detailed service lines of the unemployment by occupation page, from health care support to personal care and service; the rank of the change over a year on the unemployment by occupation page counts wholes and parts together as separate lines.
- October 2025 has no value because BLS did not collect the survey that month; the chart shows a gap there, and the change over a year for October 2026 has no value because there is no October 2025 to compare with.
- BLS publishes this series from 2000.
- The changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes; a change is in percentage points.
Observed . Checked .
How to cite this
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Service occupations, not seasonally adjusted, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What is the unemployment rate in service occupations?", https://500metrics.com/unemployment-by-occupation/service.
Can the data be downloaded?unemployment-by-occupation-service.csv
Download the full history as CSV: 320 rows, to , 5,326 bytes.
Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.
Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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