The U.S. unemployment rate of 4.9 percent in January 2016—a level not seen in nearly eight years—has spawned a discussion in the media and among economists on whether we are getting closer to “full employment.”
Loosely defined, full employment is an economic condition when all eligible people can find work at prevailing wages, and a time when the number of job seekers nearly matches the number of job openings. It does not assume 0 percent unemployment; historically, the jobless rate for this condition typically ranges from 4 to 6 percent.
