WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate for black Americans declined in May to 6.2% from 6.7% in April. The rate is now at its lowest point since November.
The decline in the rate, though, wasn’t entirely positive: It resulted not just from more people finding work but also from others no longer looking for a job and so no longer being counted as unemployed.
The rate for Americans of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, which can include all races, held steady at 4.2%, the lowest level on records since 1973.
The Labor Department said Friday that all told, employers added just 75,000 jobs in May. The overall unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%.
The data for demographic groups came from a survey of households that is part of the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
| Unemployment rate by group: | |||
| (Numbers in percentages) | May 2019 | April 2019 | May 2018 |
| White | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| Black | 6.2 | 6.7 | 5.9 |
| Asian | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity* | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| Adult men | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| Adult women | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| Teenagers | 12.7 | 13.0 | 12.7 |
| 20-24 years old | 7.0 | 6.5 | 7.1 |
| 25-54 years old | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| 55 and over | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan* | 2.8 | 1.7 | 4.2 |
| No high school diploma | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.5 |
| High school graduate | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| Some college | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| College graduate | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
| Duration of Unemployment: | |||
| Average length (weeks) | 24.1 | 22.9 | 21.3 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct.) | 22.4 | 21.1 | 19.7 |
| *Includes all races | |||
| Source: Labor Department | |||
