Presidents › Donald Trump (1st term)
Unemployment under Donald Trump (1st term)
Unemployment rate · Republican · Jan 20, 2017 – Jan 20, 2021
Under Donald Trump (1st term), the unemployment rate went from 4.7% in Dec 2016 to 6.7% in Dec 2020, up 2.0 pts. That is +0.50 pts/yr, against −0.80 pts/yr in the four years before. Ranked by yearly change, it is the 2nd-fastest rise of the 8 completed terms since 1977.
Share of the labor force that is jobless and actively looking for work (U-3, seasonally adjusted). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED UNRATE. Monthly data, fetched Oct 19, 2026. The chart runs from four years before the term to two years after it.
Unemployment under Trump, year by year
Highest reading during the term: 14.8% in Apr 2020. Lowest: 3.5% in Sep 2019.
| Period | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2016, before inauguration | 4.7% | |
| Dec 2017 | 4.1% | −0.6 pts |
| Dec 2018 | 3.9% | −0.2 pts |
| Dec 2019 | 3.6% | −0.3 pts |
| Dec 2020 | 6.7% | +3.1 pts |
Unemployment under every president
Terms sorted by yearly change, fastest rise first, each next to the trend over the four years before it. A term's first year mostly reflects the previous administration's policies, and Congress, the Fed and the world economy move this number too. Why nothing here is a score.
| President | During term | 4 years before |
|---|---|---|
| George H. W. Bush 1989–1993 | 5.3% → 7.4% +0.53 pts/yr | −0.50 pts/yr |
| Donald Trump (1st term) 2017–2021 | 4.7% → 6.7% +0.50 pts/yr | −0.80 pts/yr |
| George W. Bush 2001–2009 | 3.9% → 7.3% +0.43 pts/yr | −0.38 pts/yr |
| Donald Trump (2nd term) 2025–present | 4.1% → 4.2% +0.06 pts/yr · through Sep 2026 | −0.65 pts/yr |
| Jimmy Carter 1977–1981 | 7.8% → 7.2% −0.15 pts/yr | +0.65 pts/yr |
| Ronald Reagan 1981–1989 | 7.2% → 5.3% −0.24 pts/yr | −0.15 pts/yr |
| Barack Obama 2009–2017 | 7.3% → 4.7% −0.32 pts/yr | +0.47 pts/yr |
| Bill Clinton 1993–2001 | 7.4% → 3.9% −0.44 pts/yr | +0.53 pts/yr |
| Joe Biden 2021–2025 | 6.7% → 4.1% −0.65 pts/yr | +0.50 pts/yr |
Every term lined up from inauguration day on one chart · Unemployment rate by president since 1980
Events during the term that bear on unemployment
- Mar 11, 2020 ShockCOVID-19 declared a pandemic. Lockdowns push unemployment to 14.8% in April 2020.
- Mar 27, 2020 LawCARES Act. About $2.2 trillion in relief: stimulus checks, expanded unemployment benefits and the Paycheck Protection Program.