Black unemployment rate drops to record high

by



[ad_1]

The unemployment rate for black workers rose from 6 percent to 5.5 percent, according to data from the Department of Labor. The previous record of 5.9% was set in May 2018.

The unemployment rate of black women fell to a record 4.4% from 5.2% in July. The unemployment rate for black men rose from 5.8% to 5.9%. But the previous month's rate was a record, so it's still close to record lows.

The unemployment rate for workers who identify as Hispanic or Latin American also declined in August to 4.2%, matching the record level reached earlier this year.

Since the early 1970s, the Department of Labor has been monitoring minority unemployment. The number of unemployed Blacks and Hispanics or Latinos has always been higher than white unemployment, and it remains so today. The unemployment rate for whites was 3.4% in August, compared to 3.3% previously. But this is the smallest gap ever recorded between the respective unemployment rates of blacks and whites.

Overall, the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.7%, unchanged from the previous month.
American hires slow down. The economy added 130,000 jobs in August

The record unemployment rate for African Americans is undeniably good news, said Valerie Wilson, director of the program on race, ethnicity and economics for the Economic Policy Institute. She warned that monthly figures for unemployment rates for different racial groups could be volatile, although less volatile annual rates also improved. She attributed this improvement to the prolonged strength of the US labor market. Employers have created jobs for 107 consecutive months and the unemployment rate in the country has almost reached its lowest level in 50 years.

"As jobs continue to be created, those who are still looking for work, such as minorities with historically higher unemployment rates, are the ones who are in a position to take advantage of these opportunities," she said. .

But the participation rate of minority workers is not as high as before, so the percentage of the total black population in employment is not as high as in the last employment boom in the 1990s. turn of the century. Second, over 60% of African-American adults were employed, reaching a record 61.4% in March 2000. In August, it was a few percentage points lower at 58.8%.

[ad_2]

Source link