How high did unemployment rise in the United States during the Great Depression?

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A long line of unemployed men in coats and hats stands outside a soup kitchen in Chicago, with a storefront sign reading Free Soup, Coffee and Doughnuts for the Unemployed. — Great Depression Unemployed men standing in line outside a soup kitchen, Chicago.

During the Great Depression, the unemployment rate in the United States reached more than 20 percent at its highest point. By 1933, approximately 15 million Americans were jobless. While there is some debate regarding the reliability of historical statistics from that era, it is widely agreed that the rate exceeded this 20 percent threshold during the downturn.123