After a curve inversion

In every month the 10-year yield sat below the 2-year, what did unemployment do over the following year?

10 windows met these conditions and completed 12 months. US Unemployment Rate was higher 12 months later in 5 of them and lower in 4. The middle half of outcomes fell between -0.1 and 0.25.

What followed, across 10 completed windows

Higher after
5
Lower after
4
Middle half
-0.1 to +0.25
Full range
-0.3 to +1.5

Change in US Unemployment Rate over the 12 months after each match. Windows are listed below so any one can be checked.

Term structure

US Unemployment Rate measured 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after each matched episode, with the count of completed windows at each horizon — not a forecast path, the same distribution above asked again at three more calendar distances.

HorizonNHigher / lowerMiddle halfFull range
1m102 / 5-0.18 to 0-0.2 to +0.1
3m101 / 20 to 0-0.3 to +0.5
6m101 / 6-0.18 to 0-0.3 to +0.9
12m105 / 4-0.1 to +0.25-0.3 to +1.5

N is windows with a complete outcome at that horizon; a window that runs past the end of the record is excluded from it, not filled in. A horizon below the 5-window floor is marked thin the same way the 12 months result above is.

The conditions, in full

Generated from the same object that produced the numbers, so the description cannot drift from the computation.

  1. condition: T10Y2Y below 0
  2. align: each condition is put onto the measured series' dates, taking the last observation on or before each, so windows and spans count in the measured series' own periods
  3. measure: UNRATE over the following 12 observations
  4. matches within 3 observations count as one episode

Every matching window

10 episodes, each dated. Consecutive months meeting the conditions count once.

BeganRan forUS Unemployment Rate thenAfterChange
Sep 197821 mo65.9-0.1
Oct 198013 mo7.57.9+0.4
Feb 19826 mo8.910.4+1.5
Feb 19899 mo5.25.3+0.1
Jul 19981 mo4.54.3-0.2
Mar 200010 mo44.3+0.3
Jan 20063 mo4.74.6-0.1
Jul 200612 mo4.74.70
Apr 20221 mo3.73.4-0.3
Aug 202225 mo3.63.7+0.1

Recompute this

Fetch T10Y2Y UNRATE from the API or from FRED, apply each condition on the same dates, collapse consecutive matches, and measure the change over the following 12 months. The full rule is in the claims ledger.

This page counts and dates. It does not say what will happen next, and no window above is presented as more likely than another — MacroRadar publishes historical indicators, never forecasts.