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The unemployment rate for black Americans fell in April, bucking the general trend, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.
Black Americans remain the ethnic group with the highest unemployment rate in the U.S., even after the group’s jobless rate fell to 5.6% last month from 6.4% in March. Still, that’s notable compared to the overall unemployment rate – which rose from 3.8% to 3.9% in April – and to the other ethnic groups, all of whose jobless rates rose last month.
The unemployment rate for white Americans rose slightly from 3.4% to 3.5%. The unemployment rate for Asian and Hispanic workers increased from 2.5% to 2.8% and from 4.5% to 4.8%.
But the unemployment rate for black Americans fluctuated significantly, rising from 5.6% in February to 6.4% in March.
“Fortunately that has gone down for many reasons. I think that suggests that last month was actually just a statistical outlier due to the small sample size, and the fact that that has now come down for April is very encouraging,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “And this happens with both black men and black women.”
Gould added that she is still keeping a close eye on the unemployment rate for black Americans, which rose for four straight months before April. It’s an important indicator – or canary in the coal mine – to keep an eye on because traditionally marginalized groups often feel the effects of a weak labor market first, she said.
Among black workers, the labor force participation rate fell from 63.6% to 63.2%.
Meanwhile, the overall labor force participation rate remained constant at 62.7%. The figure rose from 64.1% to 64.7% for Asian Americans and from 66.8% to 67.3% for Hispanic workers.
Gould pointed to another positive trend: that the employment rate rose in April for “prime-age workers,” meaning workers ages 25 to 54.
—CNBC’s Gabriel Cortes contributed to this report.
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2024-05-03 15:47:10
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