RaoscaffResearch
Prediction Series · Lock · Issue P-130
Prediction Series · P-130

US July jobless rate — ≤5.0%, locked at 90%.

90% probability the US July 2026 unemployment rate prints at or below 5.0% — a ceiling well above the low-4% range that has held all year. A structural data-floor call. Resolves ~7 Aug 2026 via the BLS.

Type · Prediction Lock · structural data ceiling Locked · 2026-06-26 · before the July jobs report Resolves · ~2026-08-07 · BLS Employment Situation, July 2026 (bls.gov) Scored · binary: July 2026 unemployment rate ≤5.0% yes/no
US July 2026 unemployment rate · our locked ceiling
≤ 5.0%
headline U-3 rate · vs low-4% range in 2026

The US unemployment rate has held in the low-4% range through 2026 (May 2026 payrolls +172k); forecasters expect the July rate roughly unchanged even as hiring cools. Our 5.0% ceiling sits well above that. Source: BLS Employment Situation report for July 2026, released ~7 Aug 2026 (bls.gov).

— 1 · The Locked Call

The US July 2026 unemployment rate prints ≤5.0% — P = 0.90.

We lock a binary: the US July 2026 headline (U-3) unemployment rate prints at or below 5.0%, per the BLS Employment Situation report. Confidence 90%.

— 2 · Why it's nail-able

The rate has held in the low-4s — clearing 5.0% needs a near-unprecedented one-month jump.

With the unemployment rate anchored in the low-4% range all year, a single-month move above 5.0% would require a ~0.6–0.8pt spike — outside normal monthly variation. Confidence 90%, not higher, for the tail of a labour-market air-pocket (a sharp layoff wave or a participation surge). Resolves against the official BLS July figure.

Locked on 2026-06-26 — scored against the BLS July 2026 Employment Situation report.

RAOSCAFF locks P-130 on 2026-06-26. Scored against the US July 2026 headline unemployment rate versus a 5.0% ceiling.

Locked
2026-06-26 (commit timestamp on origin/main)
Resolves
~2026-08-07 — BLS Employment Situation report for July 2026
Source
US Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) headline U-3 rate
Scored by
Binary: YES if the July 2026 unemployment rate ≤5.0%; NO otherwise

Scored on the headline U-3 rate in the first July release — a wide ceiling above the prevailing low-4% level.