This dataset was taken from the list of OpenIntro dataset files found at https://www.openintro.org/data/.

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unempl

A compilation of two data sets that provides an estimate of unemploymentfrom 1890 to 2010.

Variables

• year - Year
• unemp - Unemployment rate, in percent
• us_data - 1 if from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 0 otherwise

Source

The data are from Wikipedia at the following URL accessed onNovember 1st, 2010:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Unemployment_1890-2009.gifBelow is a direct quotation from Wikipedia describing the sources of thedata:Own work by Peace01234 Complete raw data are on Peace01234. 1930-2009 dataare from Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment status of the civiliannoninstitutional population, 1940 to dateftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aat1.txt, retrieved March 6, 2009and retrieved February 12, 2010. Data prior to 1948 are for persons age14 and over. Data beginning in 1948 are for persons age 16 and over. Seealso "Historical Comparability" under the Household Data section of theExplanatory Notes at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.1890-1930 data are from Christina Romer (1986). "Spurious Volatility inHistorical Unemployment Data", The Journal of Political Economy, 94(1):1-37. 1930-1940 data are from Robert M. Coen (1973). "Labor Force andUnemployment in the 1920's and 1930's: A Re-Examination Based on PostwarExperience", The Review of Economics and Statistics, 55(1): 46-55.Unemployment data was only surveyed once each decade until 1940 when yearlysurveys were begun. The yearly data estimates before 1940 are based on thedecade surveys combined with other relevant surveys that were collectedduring those years. The methods are described in detail by Coen and Romer.

Taken from: https://www.openintro.org/data/index.php?data=unempl.