Natural Unemployment Rate

The natural unemployment rate is the unemployment rate when the economy is in long run equilbrium. When an economy is at its natural rate of unemployment, it can also be said that it is at full employment, because the types of workers who are unemployed likely aren't laid off because of a contracting economy.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the natural rate of unemployment in the US is between 4.5% and 5.5%. When an economy is at full employment, the unemployment it experiences can be frictional, seasonal, or structural.