Record Low Number of Jobless Americans Who Want Work: Survey

Job seekers and recruiters gather at TechFair in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 8, 2018. Monica Almeida/Reuters

The share of Americans who lack a job and actually want one has never been lower, as far as government survey data goes.

About 3 percent of Americans didn’t have a job and wanted one in October, which is the lowest number based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Census Bureau data going back to 1994.