Unemployment rates on US county level 1900 and 1920

Hi!

I am trying to find unemployment rates on US county level for the years 1900 and 1920. Haven’t had any success so far.

Where do I find this data?

Many thanks!

Unfortunately the information collected on unemployment for 1900 and 1920 is sparse, and that makes it difficult to calculate unemployment rates for those years. The variable typically used to identify unemployed individuals is EMPSTAT, but since it is not available in 1900 or 1920, it is not possible to determine who was unemployed at the time of the survey. The 1900 sample does offer the variables QTRUNUMPand MOUNEMPwhich record the length of time respondents were unemployed in the last 12 months, which you may find to be helpful. Additionally, the variable LABFORCE tells whether a respondent was in the labor force or not. In the end, it is up to the researcher to decide how beneficial these variables are for their research needs.

I’m sorry I could not deliver better news.