[20200713]IN11456_新冠病毒-19：衡量失业率.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i COVID-19: Measuring Unemployment July 13, 2020 Due to the effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, unemployment has risen to levels unseen since the Great Depression, peaking at a rate of 14.7% in April before decreasing to 11.1% in June. The unemployment rate is seen as a crucial metric for judging policy outcomes, but confusion among many observers about how the unemployment rate is calculated has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the difficulties it has presented. This Insight discusses how unemployment data are collected and classified, delves into the challenges COVID-19 has introduced, and puts these issues into context with a brief look at recent unemployment trends. Unemployment Rate Methodology How Are Unemployment Data Collected? Unemployment data are released every month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS calculates unemployment rates based on data provided by the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Each month, the CPS is given to a representative sample of about 60,000 households, which covers about 110,00