From the number of unemployed and the labour force, compute the unemployment rate: unemployed ÷ labour force × 100, the share of the workforce who want a job but cannot find one.
Input Data
Results
At a glance:The unemployment rate is the share of the labour force that is unemployed but actively seeking work.
Formula
unemploymentPct = unemployed / laborForce × 100%
$$\text{Unemployment Rate} = \dfrac{\text{Unemployed}}{\text{Labor Force}} \times 100\%$$$$\text{Labor Force} = \text{Employed} + \text{Unemployed}$$How to Use
- Enter the number unemployed.
- Enter the labour force.
- Read the unemployment rate.
FAQ
Who counts in the 'labour force'? Do students and retirees count?
The labour force includes only those 'able and willing to work'—specifically the employed plus the unemployed. Employed means currently working (full-time, part-time, self-employed). Unemployed means not working but actively job-seeking and available to start. Crucially, many people are neither employed nor unemployed—they are outside the labour force: full-time students not seeking work, retirees, full-time homemakers, those unable to work due to illness, and 'discouraged workers' who have given up searching after long failure. Because the denominator is the labour force (not the whole population), these non-participants affect interpretation. If many give up and drop out, both the numerator (unemployed) and denominator (labour force) shrink, making the rate 'look better' though the market is worse. So read the rate together with the labour-force participation rate.
Does a low unemployment rate always mean a good economy?
Not necessarily. A low rate is important but can mislead alone. First, if job-seekers drop out (discouraged workers), the rate falls 'falsely'—that reflects pessimism, not improvement; check whether participation is also falling. Second, it cannot show underemployment—people with part-time or below-skill jobs, or cut hours, count as employed though under-used. Third, it is a lagging indicator, reacting only after the cycle turns. Fourth, there is a 'natural rate'—even a healthy economy always has frictional and structural unemployment, so the rate should not and need not hit zero. Judge the economy with the participation rate, employment growth, wage growth, GDP growth and underemployment together, not one number.
What types of unemployment are there?
Economics splits it by cause. Frictional: short gaps between jobs (new grads, voluntary movers)—normal and even healthy. Structural: skills mismatch from tech change or industry shift (e.g. factory workers after closures)—persistent, needing retraining. Cyclical: from recessions and weak demand—falls as the economy recovers, and is what fiscal/monetary stimulus targets. Seasonal: from seasonal demand (agriculture, tourism). Frictional plus structural make the 'natural rate' that exists even at full employment; cyclical is the direct reflection of the business cycle. So a rising rate from cyclical causes signals a weakening economy needing stimulus; from structural causes needs training and industrial policy.
How is Hong Kong's unemployment rate measured, and why does it differ from my feeling?
Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department computes it via the General Household Survey (GHS), a sample survey, and publishes seasonally adjusted figures, usually as a three-month moving average. Several points explain the gap with personal feeling. First, the strict definition: to be 'unemployed' one must, in the seven days before the survey, have no work, be available to start, AND have actively sought work recently—all three; anyone with even a little part-time work, or wanting work but not recently searching (discouraged), is not counted. Second, underemployment is invisible: if you are cut in pay, forced unpaid leave, or under-employed below your skill, you still count as 'employed'; the rate shows none of that pain (the Department has a separate 'underemployment rate'). Third, sampling and lag: it is a sampled estimate and a moving average, with a time lag to sharp changes, and not industry-specific in real time. Fourth, big subgroup gaps: the overall rate is an average; sectoral (retail, dining, construction) or age-group rates may be far higher or lower. So if you are in a hit sector or facing pay cuts and underemployment, your experience naturally differs from the 'overall, adjusted, lagged' official number. For a closer picture, also see the underemployment rate, sector data and participation rate, and rely on the Department's published figures.
Is 0% unemployment the best outcome?
No—it is neither possible nor desirable; a healthy economy always has some unemployment, captured by the 'natural rate'. Even at full employment, two kinds persist. Frictional: people always between jobs, new grads, or relocating need time to search and match—this gap is normal and even reflects freedom to choose and good market liquidity. Structural: industries transform and tech changes, so some workers' skills or locations mismatch demand and need retraining. These two sum to the natural rate, typically a few percent, not removable by stimulating demand. What policy should fight is cyclical unemployment from recessions. In fact, forcing the rate far below the natural rate means an overheating, tight market that pushes up wages and prices and accelerates inflation (the NAIRU concept), harming stability. So the goal is not 'zero' but keeping the rate near the natural rate—fully using labour without overheating. This site also has a natural-rate-of-unemployment calculator.
References
Content review: Calculatorism Finance Team. Results are for reference only; please refer to the relevant authorities for the official figures.