The August Jobs Report Was Mixed for African Americans by Frederick H. Lowe

Sept. 21, 2014
The August Jobs Report Was Mixed for African-Americans
By Frederick H. Lowe

august jobs chart - 2014

The unemployment rate in August was 11.4 percent, the same as July.

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from TheNorthStarNews.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The overall seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for African-Americans in August was 11.4 percent, the same as July, although the jobless rate for black men dropped slightly but rose for black women, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

The jobless rate for Black men 20 years old and older was 10.8 percent compared with 11.1 percent in July, BLS reported. Some 929,000 Black men were unemployed in August compared with 967,000 in July, according to BLS's monthly household survey. The labor-participation rate for black men, or the number of men actively looking for work, dropped to 60.1 percent in August, compared with 60.4 percent in July. Some 7,676 million Black men were employed in August, down from 7,704 in July.

The unemployment rate for African-American women 20 years old and older was 10.6 percent compared with 10.1 percent in July. Some 1,015 million Black women were out of work in August compared with 984,000 in July. The August labor-participation rate for women dropped to 61.5 percent compared with 62.3 percent in July. Some 8,581 million African-American women were employed in August compared to 8,736 million in July.

The jobless rate for Blacks is higher than all other ethnic and racial groups as the nation's non-farm businesses added 142,000 jobs in July. The nation's unemployment rate remained little changed at 6.1 percent.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate for whites was 5.3 percent. White women 20 years old and older reported a jobless rate of 4.8 percent. The unemployment rate for White men 20 years old and older was 4.9 percent. The jobless rate for Hispanics was 7.5 percent in August compared to 7.8 percent in July.