Question

Over the long term, has the U.S. unemployment rate generally trended up, trended down, or remained at basically the same level?

Short answer

Same level roughly.

Step-by-step solution

Step1. Introduction

The unemployment rate is the proportion of the labor force which is unemployed. An uptrend indicates rising rate, and hence more unemployment and vice versa for downtrend.

Step2. Explanation

Roughly, the unemployment rate has fairly stayed stable with some little fluctuations here and there.

This indicates the Fed has been successful in maintaining and achieving the targeted unemployment.

The Fed has been able to maintain the unemployment rate around 5%.