The unemployment rate for Black workers decreased in August, as per data released by the Department of Labor on Friday. In August, the jobless rate for Black workers dropped to 6.1% from 6.3% the previous month, aligning with the overall national unemployment rate, which decreased to 4.2% in August from July.
Conversely, unemployment among white workers remained unchanged at 3.8%. However, the jobless rate increased for Asian and Hispanic workers. For Asian workers, it rose to 4.1% from 3.7%, and for Hispanic workers, it inched up to 5.5% from 5.3%.
There was a significant decrease in unemployment for Black men, with their jobless rate falling to 5.9% from 6.6%. In contrast, the unemployment rate for Black women remained steady at 5.5%.
While Hispanic women saw a decline in their jobless rate to 5% from 5.4%, the unemployment rate for Hispanic men rose to 4.8% from 4.4%. The unemployment rate for white men also increased to 3.6% from 3.5%, while it stayed the same at 3.4% for white women.
Analyzing the employment-to-population ratio for prime-age female workers (ages 25 to 54) provides an optimistic outlook on the labor market, according to Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. Gould mentioned that the employment-to-population ratio for prime-age women workers is at a 25-year high, indicating strength in the labor market despite some softening in other indicators.
Gould also noted that with the labor market nearing full employment, some weakness may be expected. In August, the labor force participation rate, which represents the percentage of the population employed or actively seeking work, remained unchanged at 62.7%.
Among different racial groups, the participation rate remained steady for white workers but decreased from 63.2% to 62.7% for Black workers. Among Asian workers, participation declined from 65.7% to 65.4%, while it increased from 67.3% to 67.8% for Hispanic workers.
— CNBC’s Gabriel Cortes contributed to this report.
Correction: The unemployment rate for Black women remained steady at 5.5%. A previous version incorrectly stated the percentage.
