The unemployment rate is the number of the labor force that is jobless, this number is indicated in percentage and reflect in a way how the economy is performing. When the economy grows, therefore, jobs are relatively taken place then this rate will be expecting it to fall. On the other side when there is no growth in the economy the unemployment rate is expected to grow as we will see more layoffs.
Chart above show the Actual US unemployment rates in percentage. Source: Tradingeconomics.com | us bureau of labor statistics.
The US unemployment rate increases quickly to 14.7% in April 2020, data source: ("United States Unemployment Rate | 1948-2020 Data | 2021-2022 Forecast | Calendar", 2020) These numbers are the highest in history, As the market expectation was 16%. The unemployment number rose from 15.9 million to 23.1 million Americans.
The figure shows the number of unemployment claims, Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 April 2020. This graph shows the number of unemployment claims for jobless benefits last six weeks and shows how the pandemic and the lockdown has affected jobs in the country.
The unemployment rate in the US has been going drastically up, as it reaches it's all-time high with 14.7% in April 2020 ("United States Unemployment Rate | 1948-2020 Data | 2021-2022 Forecast | Calendar", 2020), as these number has never seen before. Unemployed people will hold more pressure on the government and the economy.
Date Source: United States Unemployment Rate | 1948-2020 Data | 2021-2022 Forecast | Calendar. (2020). Retrieved 30 May 2020, from https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate