Question: what was the highest unemployment rate?
Answer: The highest rate of U.S. unemployment was 24.9% in 1933, during the Great Depression. 1﻿ Unemployment remained above 14% from 1931 to 1940. It remained in the single digits until September 1982 when it reached 10.1%. 2﻿ During the Great Recession, unemployment reached 10% in October 2009.