Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking work. During periods of recession, an economy usually experiences a relatively high unemployment rate. According to International Labour Organization report, "More than 197 million people globally are out of work or 6% of the world's workforce was without a job in 2012. The unemployment rate is measured and calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labor force. The International Labour Organization has four different methods on calculating unemployment rates.
The four methods of calculation are labour force sample surveys, official estimates, social insurance statistics, and employment office statistics. Sample surveys are a calculation of unemployment by different group categories such as race and gender. This method is the most internationally comparable. Official estimates are used from one or more of the other methods combined. The social insurance statistics are based on the number of people insured representing the total labour force and the number of people who are insured that are collecting benefits. This method has been heavily criticized due to the expiration of benefits before the person finds work. The last method, employment office statistics, includes a monthly tally of unemployed people who enter employment offices. This method also includes the unemployed who are not unemployed per the ILO definition. Unemployment can also affect an individual in many different ways.

Individuals can be affected by unemployment and can cause malnutrition, illness, mental stress, and loss of self-esteem, loss of sleep and the unemployed individual who may lose a sense of who they are. All these things could lead to depression. A study by Washington State and Lee University said it was more likely that if someone is unemployed