Unemployment Rate
The share of the labor force actively seeking work but unable to find it — a key input to central bank employment mandates.
The unemployment rate is the percentage of the labor force that is jobless and actively looking for work. It is one half of the Fed's dual mandate (the other being price stability) and is released monthly alongside Non-Farm Payrolls.
A falling unemployment rate signals a tight labor market, which can stoke wage inflation and keep central banks hawkish. Rising unemployment suggests economic slack that gives central banks room to cut rates. Paradoxically, "bad news" (higher unemployment) can be "good news" for risk assets if it signals imminent rate cuts.