Black Youth "Seasonally Adjusted" Unemployment Rate Increases To 30 Percent In February 2015

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age in the United States Increased from 29.7 to 30 percent between January and February 2015; while the number of unemployed Black youths increased by 11,000 (from 207,000 to 218,000) during the same period, according to the “seasonally adjusted” Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age in the United States was still 19.8 percent in February 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 15 percent during that same month.

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age in the United States was still 17.1 percent in February 2015.

Between January and February 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States increased from 8.7 to 8.9 percent; while the number of unemployed Black female workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 14,000 (from 843,000 to 857,000) during the same period.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States was still 10.4 percent in February 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all Black workers in the United States (youth, male and female) was also still 10.4 percent during that same month.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white female workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States was still 4.2 percent in February 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white male workers over 20 years-of-age was still 4.5 percent during that same month. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all white workers (youth, male and female) was still 4.7 percent in February 2015.

Between January and February 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latino male workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 5.7 to 6 percent; while the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all Latino workers (youth, male and female) in the United States was still 6.6 percent in February 2015. In addition, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latina female workers over 20 years-of-age was still 6.1 percent during February 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Asian-American workers in the United States was still 4 percent during that same month.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all female workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States was still 5.4 percent in February 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all female workers over 20 years-of-age was still 4.9 percent during the same month. In addition, the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all male workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States was still 5.7 percent in February 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all male workers over 20 years-of-age was still 5.2 percent during that same month..

In February 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” total number of unemployed workers in the United States was still 8,705,000; while the official unemployment rate for all U.S. workers (male, female and youth) was still 5.5 percent during that same month, according to the “not seasonally adjusted” data

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ March 6,, 2015 press release:

“The jobless rate for adult men (5.2 percent), adult women (4.9 percent), whites (4.7 percent), blacks (10.4 percent), Asians (4.0 percent), and Hispanics (6.6 percent) showed little or no change…The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 2.7 million in February. These individuals accounted for 31.1 percent of the unemployed…

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in February at 6.6 million. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job....

“In February, 2.2 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, little changed 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 732,000 discouraged workers in February, little different from a year earlier....Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them….

“….Employment in mining declined over the month…Within the industry, petroleum and coal products lost 6,000 jobs, largely due to a strike.

“Employment in mining decreased by 9,000 in February, with most of the decline in support activities for mining (-7,000).

“Employment in other major industries, including wholesale trade, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month….

“In February, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees were unchanged at $20.80….After revision, the change in total nonfarm payroll employment….the change for January was revised from +257,000 to +239,000. With these revisions, employment gains in December and January were18,000 lower than previously reported….”.