Black Female Worker Jobless Rate Jumps To 12.9 Percent Under Obama

Between June and July 2010, the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States jumped from 11.8 to 12.9 percent under the Democratic Obama Administration; while the unemployment rate for all Black workers over 16-years-of-age increased from 15.4 to 15.6 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The official unemployment rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age was also still 16.7 percent in July 2010; while the jobless rate for Black youths between 16 and 19-years-of-age increased from 39.9 to 40.6 percent between June and July 2010.

The number of Black workers who have been able to find jobs in the United States also dropped by 117,000 between June and July 2010, although the number of Black workers officially counted as unemployed increased by only 23,000—to 2,755,000-- during this same period.

Between June and July 2010, the “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Asian-American workers jumped from 7.7 to 8.2 percent; while the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino or Hispanic workers in the United States was still 12.1 percent and the official “seasonally adjusted” rate for white male workers over 20-years-of-age was still 8.8 percent in July 2010. The “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latino or Hispanic youths between 16 and 19-years-of-age was still 35 percent in July 2010; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white youths increased from 23.2 to 23.5 percent between June and July 2010.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ August 6, 2010 press release:

“Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 131,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.5 percent…Federal government employment fell, as 143,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work…

“Both the number of unemployed persons, at 14.6 million, and the unemployment rate, at 9.5 percent, were unchanged in July…

“In July, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was little changed at 6.6 million. These individuals made up 44.9 percent of unemployed persons…

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged over the month at 8.5 million…These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job…

“About 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in July, an increase of 340,000 from a year earlier…These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

“Among the marginally attached, there were 1.2 million discouraged workers in July, up by 389,000 from a year earlier…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them…

“Employment in professional and business services was little changed (-13,000) in July. The number of jobs in temporary help services showed little movement (-6,000) over the month.

“Employment in financial activities continued to trend down in July, with a decline of 17,000…

“Construction employment changed little (-11,000) in July; 10,000 construction workers were off payrolls due to strike activity…

“Government employment fell by 202,000 in July…Employment in both state and local governments edged down over the month…

“The change in total nonfarm payroll employment…for June was revised from -125,000 to -221,000…”