NYS Department of Labor unemployment rate vs full employment - what percent counts as normal?
I've been reading about unemployment statistics and I'm confused about what economists call 'full employment.' My claim got approved after being unemployed for 6 months, but I keep seeing news about unemployment rates and wondering what's considered normal vs high unemployment. Does anyone know what percent of unemployment is considered full employment? Is there a specific number the NYS Department of Labor or economists use? I'm trying to understand if the job market is actually good right now or if I should be more worried about finding work.
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Christian Bierman
Full employment typically means an unemployment rate between 3.5% to 5%. It doesn't mean zero unemployment because there's always going to be some frictional unemployment (people between jobs) and structural unemployment. The NYS Department of Labor tracks these numbers but they use federal definitions. Right now if you're actively job searching and filing your weekly claims, you're part of the labor force statistics.
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Makayla Shoemaker
•That makes sense! So even when the economy is 'good' there's still going to be people like me filing unemployment claims. I thought full employment meant like 1-2% unemployment.
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Emma Olsen
I think it's around 4% but honestly the whole thing is confusing. When I was on unemployment last year the job market felt terrible even though the news kept saying unemployment was low. The NYS Department of Labor kept telling me there were jobs available for my job search requirement but most of them paid way less than what I was making before.
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Lucas Lindsey
•That's because the unemployment rate doesn't capture underemployment or people who gave up looking. You can have 'full employment' statistically but still have people struggling to find good paying work. The NYS Department of Labor counts you as employed even if you're working part-time when you want full-time.
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Sophie Duck
If you're having trouble getting through to the NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about job market conditions or your claim status, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helped when I couldn't get through the regular phone lines to discuss my job search requirements.
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Austin Leonard
•Interesting, never heard of that. Did they actually help you get better information about the job market or just general claim stuff?
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Sophie Duck
•They got me connected to an agent who explained the job search requirements better and helped me understand what types of work I needed to be applying for to meet the NYS Department of Labor standards.
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Anita George
Economics is weird but basically full employment is when everyone who wants a job can find one relatively quickly. The actual percentage changes over time but it's usually considered somewhere between 4-5%. During the 2008 recession unemployment hit like 10% which was way above full employment.
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Makayla Shoemaker
•So right now when I'm job searching, am I competing in a 'full employment' market or is it still tough out there?
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Freya Andersen
•@Makayla Shoemaker It really depends on your industry and location within NY. The overall state unemployment rate might show full "employment numbers," but some sectors are still recovering differently. I d'suggest checking the NYS Department of Labor s'industry-specific data on their website - they break down employment by sector and region. That might give you a better sense of whether your field is competitive right now versus the overall state average.
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