Saturday, June 2, 2012

Black Male Worker Unemployment Rate Jumps To 14.2 Percent In May 2012

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States increased from 13.6 to 14.2 percent between April and May 2012; while the “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino male workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 8.6 to 9.6 percent during the same period, according to recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In addition, the “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latino youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age also increased from 26.1 to 30.4 percent between April and May 2012; while the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 36.5 percent in May 2012.

Between April and May 2012, the total number of officially unemployed Black male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States increased by 71,000 (from 1,108,000 to 1,179,000), according to the “seasonally adjusted” data; while the total number of unemployed Latino male workers over 20 years-of-age in the U.S. labor force increased by 153,000 (from 1,138,000 to 1,291,000) during the same period, according to the “not seasonally adjusted” data. In addition, the total number of jobless Latino youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased by 63,000 (from 285,000 to 348,000) between April and May 2012, according to the “not seasonally adjusted” data.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age also increased from 10.8 to 11.4 percent between April and May 2012; and the total number of unemployed Black female workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 43,000 (from 1,019,000 to 1,062,000) during that same period. The official unemployment rate for all Black workers in the United States (male, female and youth) also increased from 13 to 13.6 percent between April and May 2012; while the official jobless rate for white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 22 percent in May 2012.

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all male workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States (Black, Latino, Asian-American and white) increased from 8.2 to 8.4 percent between April and May 2012; while the official jobless rate for all female workers over 16 years-of-age was still 7.9 percent in May 2012. In addition, the “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latina female workers over 20 years-of-age was still 9.2 percent in May 2012; while the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all workers in the United States increased from 8.1 to 8.2 percent between April and May 2012. During the same period, the total number of officially unemployed U.S. workers also increased from 12,500,000 to 12,720,000.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ June 1, 2012 press release:

“…The unemployment rates for…whites (7.4 percent)…showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 5.2 percent in May (not seasonally adjusted)…


“The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) rose from 5.1 to 5.4 million in May. These individuals accounted for 42.8 percent of the unemployed…


“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) edged up to 8.1 million over the month. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job…


“In May, 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, up from 2.2 million 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 830,000 discouraged workers in May…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them…


“Construction employment declined by 28,000 in May, with job losses occurring in special trade contractors (-18,000) and in heavy and civil engineering construction (-11,000)…In May, job losses in accounting and bookkeeping services (-14,000) and in services to buildings and dwellings (-14,000) were offset by small gains elsewhere…

“The change in total nonfarm payroll employment…for April was revised [downward] from +115,000 to +77,000…”


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