Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate - Meaning

The raw rate tells you what happened. The seasonally adjusted rate tells you what the economy is actually doing.

Retailers hire massive temporary staff in November and December. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate meaning

Let’s say the raw unemployment rate in January is . Historically, January always sees a 1.0% jump because retailers lay off holiday workers. After seasonal adjustment, the rate might be reported as 5.5% . The raw rate tells you what happened