Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Unemployment Rate

Economy Term

Unemployment rate is a measure of the percentage of the labor force that is currently unemployed but seeking employment. It is typically calculated by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by the total number of individuals in the labor force and then multiplying by 100.

In the industry, unemployment rate is an important indicator of the health of the labor market and the overall economy. A high unemployment rate can indicate a weak labor market and a struggling economy, while a low unemployment rate can suggest a strong labor market and a thriving economy.

Governments, policymakers, economists, and businesses all use the unemployment rate to evaluate economic performance, make decisions around fiscal and monetary policy, and forecast future economic trends. For example, a higher-than-expected unemployment rate might suggest that the economy is not expanding as quickly as anticipated, which could influence policymakers to introduce economic stimulus measures like tax cuts or increased government spending to boost economic growth. Similarly, a lower-than-expected unemployment rate might suggest that the economy is overheating, which could lead policymakers to consider tightening monetary policy by raising interest rates to control inflation.

In addition, businesses also use the unemployment rate to inform their hiring decisions and to gauge the strength of the labor market in specific areas or industries. A high unemployment rate might suggest that there are a significant number of job seekers available, which could give businesses more leverage to negotiate lower wages or benefits for workers. In contrast, a low unemployment rate might indicate that there is a shortage of skilled workers and that businesses may need to offer higher wages or better benefits to attract and retain talent.

More Glossary Terms Beginning with U

U.S. Government And Federal Agency Obligations
Obligations of the U.S. government or an instrumentality of the U.S. government whose obligations are fully and explicitly guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

Financial Term Letter: U
U.S. Government Securities
are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities. Some U.S. government securities are issued or unconditionally guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury. They are of the highest possible credit quality. While these securities are subject to variations in market value due to fluctuations in interest rates, they will be paid in full if held to maturity. Other U.S. governmen

Financial Term Letter: U
U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprise Obligations
Obligations of agencies originally established or chartered by the U.S. government to serve public purposes as specified by the U.S. Congress; these obligations are not explicitly guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

Financial Term Letter: U
Umbrella Coverage
A form of insurance protection against losses in excess of amounts covered by other liability insurance policies or amounts not covered by the usual liability policies.

Insurance Term Letter: U
Unassigned Surplus
The undistributed and unappropriated amount of statutory surplus.

Insurance Term Letter: U
Unconfirmed complete remission CRu
The patient has achieved a complete remission, but may not have a completely clean bone marrow test.

Health Care Term Letter: U
Underlying
The product or instrument that an option contract or a futures contract is based upon.

Financial Term Letter: U
Undeveloped reserves
Reserves of any category that are expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage, or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion.

Energy Term Letter: U
Undistributed profits
The portion of corporate profits that remains after taxes and dividends have been paid.

Economy Term Letter: U
Unearned Premium
The portion of premiums written that is allocable to the unexpired portion of the policy term.

Insurance Term Letter: U
Unemployment Rate
is the number unemployed as a percent of the labor force.

Economy Term Letter: U
Unilateral Administrative Order
A legally binding document issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directing the parties potentially responsible to perform site cleanups or studies. Generally, EPA does not issue unilateral orders for site studies.

Economy Term Letter: U

More in this Category

Advance monthly sales
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Advance Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services Survey (MARTS) to provide an early estimate of monthly sales by kind of business for retail and food service firms located in the United States. Each month, questionnaires are mailed to a probability sample of approximately 5,000 employer firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS). Firms respo

Economy Term
Affiliate
means with respect to any entity, an entity that is controlled by a other company although the other company owns less than a majority of the other entity.

Economy Term
Agents and Brokers
Persons or organizations that act as a representative for others in negotiating contracts, purchases, or sales. Agents and brokers typically earn a commission or fee for their services and do not take possession of, or title to, any goods.

Economy Term
ARPU
Average revenue per user

Economy Term
Balance of payments
Record of transactions between U.S. residents and foreign residents during a given time period. Includes transactions in goods, services, income, assets, and liabilities. It is broken down into the current accounts (international), capital accounts (international), and financial accounts (international).

Economy Term
Balance on current account
Current receipts from the rest of the world less current payments to the rest of the world, formerly called "net foreign investment." Current receipts equal exports of goods and services plus income receipts from the rest of the world; current payments are the sum of imports of goods and services, income payments to the rest of the world, and current taxes and transfer payments to the rest of the

Economy Term
Balance on goods and services
Record of the difference between exports of goods and services and imports of goods and services. In the broad sense, this balance is conceptually equal to net exports of goods and services, which is a component of gross domestic product (GDP).

Economy Term
Bonded Warehouses Manufacturing
Warehouses that are authorized by the United States Customs for storage or manufacturing of goods on which payment of duties is deferred until the goods are removed into Customs Territory. These goods are not subject to duties if reshipped to foreign points.

Economy Term
Brokers
Persons or organizations that act as a representative for others in negotiating contracts, purchases, or sales. Agents and brokers typically earn a commission or fee for their services and do not take possession of, or title to, any goods.

Economy Term
Business sector
All corporate and noncorporate private entities organized for profit and certain other entities that are treated as businesses in the national income and product accounts (NIPAs), including mutual financial institutions, private noninsured pension funds, cooperatives, nonprofit organizations that primarily serve businesses, Federal Reserve banks, federally sponsored credit agencies, and government

Economy Term
CE-marked
A compliance symbol indicating that a product meets the requirements of the European Union (EU) directives that apply to that product. CE stands for Conformit?e Europ?enne, which means European Conformity.

Economy Term
CFTC Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and option markets in the United States.

Economy Term