Fewest Percentage of Americans Ever Know Someone Unemployed

The percentage of Americans who know someone who is looking for work or gave up looking has hit its lowest level ever since tracking began in early 2010. Meanwhile, confidence in the job market remains near record highs.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 46% of American Adults know someone who is out of work and looking for a job, down from the previous low of 53% measured last November.

The highest percentage ever came in at 82% in December 2011.

Another 47% now say they do not know anyone out of work and looking for a job, up 7 points from November’s previous high. Only 25% say they know anyone who, out of frustration with the difficult job market, has given up looking for a job. Sixty-four (64%) percent say they do not.

When asked whether the labor market is better or worse than a year ago, 45% say it is better. Only 13% said it was worse and 36% said it is about the same.

The survey of 1,000 American adults was conducted on May 6-7, 2018 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. See methodology.