U-6 Underemployment Rate

Broadest BLS measure of labor underutilization — includes the unemployed, marginally attached workers, and those working part-time for economic reasons. Runs ~3–4 percentage points above the headline unemployment rate in normal times. A wide gap between U-6 and U-3 signals substantial hidden slack suppressing wage growth.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed via ALFRED (Archival FRED). ALFRED archives each data point exactly as it was first published on release day — before any revision by the reporting agency. The figures shown here are what investors, traders, and policymakers were actually looking at when the data came out. Economic releases like payrolls, GDP, and inflation are often revised significantly in subsequent months; ALFRED lets you see the real-time picture.