The unemployment rate for Black women decreased in December, reversing a concerning rise in November. Nonfarm payrolls showed significant growth in December, exceeding expectations by adding 256,000 jobs, surpassing the predicted 155,000 gain. The unemployment rate also decreased to 4.1%, indicating a robust labor market and suggesting that the Federal Reserve might not need to reduce interest rates as much as previously thought.
In December, the unemployment rate for Black women dropped to 5.4%, down from 5.9% in November. The labor force participation rate for this group slightly increased to 62.4%. The overall unemployment rate for Black workers decreased to 6.1% in December, compared to 6.4% in November and 5.7% in October.
Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, mentioned that while the Black unemployment rate remains higher than other groups, the recent report did not reveal any significant concerns. Black men also saw improvement, with their unemployment rate decreasing to 5.6% in December from 6% the previous month. The labor force participation rate for Black men slightly decreased to 68.2% in December.
Hispanic men experienced a decline in their unemployment rate to 4% in December from 4.4%, along with an improvement in labor force participation. Although the unemployment rate for Hispanic women increased slightly to 5.3% in December from 5.2%, Gould noted that this change falls within the margin of error, indicating overall stability.
In comparison, the unemployment rate for white workers decreased to 3.6% in December, down from 3.8%. Among white men, the unemployment rate decreased to 3.3% in December from 3.5%, while it remained steady at 3.4% for white women.
