WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate for Asian Americans fell to 2.1% in June, its lowest level on records dating to 2003. The result reflects Asian Americans coming off the sidelines to look for work and finding it.
Young adults also fared well last month. The jobless rate for workers ages 20 to 24 declined to 6.3% from 7% in May. That’s the lowest such level since 1969.
At the same time, the unemployment rate for Americans with just a high school diploma climbed to 3.9% in June — the highest level since October — from 3.5% in May.
The Labor Department said Friday that all told, employers added 224,000 jobs in June. The overall unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7%.
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) | June 2019 | May 2019 | June 2018 |
| White | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| Black | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.5 |
| Asian | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.2 |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity* | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.6 |
| Adult men | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
| Adult women | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
| Teenagers | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.6 |
| 20-24 years old | 6.3 | 7.0 | 7.4 |
| 25-54 years old | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
| 55 and over | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan* | 3.9 | 2.8 | 3.7 |
| No high school diploma | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.6 |
| High school graduate | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
| Some college | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
| College graduate | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| Duration of Unemployment: | |||
| Average length (weeks) | 22.2 | 24.1 | 21.2 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct.) | 23.7 | 22.4 | 22.9 |
| *Includes all races | |||
| Source: Labor Department | |||
