Black Worker `Seasonally Adjusted' Unemployment Rate Still 9.2 Percent In October 2015

In October 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all Black workers in the United States (youth, male and female) was still 9.2 percent; while the jobless rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 8.9 to 9.2 percent between September and October 2015, according to the “seasonally adjusted” Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 25.6 percent in October 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 8 to 8.1 percent between September and October 2015.

The official “seasonally adjusted” number of Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age in the U.S. labor force decreased by 44,000 (from 715,000 to 671,000) between September and October 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed Black female workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 21,000 (from 788,000 to 809,000) during the same period. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed Black male workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 30,000 (from 776,000 to 806,000) between September and October 2015..

Between September and October 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latina female workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 6.3 to 6.4 percent; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all Latino workers (youth, male and female) in the United States was still 6.3 percent in October 2015. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed Latina female workers over 20 years-of-age increased by15,000 (from 667,000 to 682,000) between September and October 2015.

The “seasonally adjusted” number of Latino male workers over 20 years-of-age in the U.S. labor force decreased by 15,000 (from 14,475,000 to 14,460,000) between September and October 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino males over 20 years-of-age was still 5.1 percent in October 2015. In addition, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latino youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 18.6 to 22.4 percent between September and October 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed Latino youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased by 41,000 (from 204,000 to 245,000) during the same period..

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 13.8 percent in October 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all youths (Black, Latino, white and Asian-American) between 16 and 19 years-of-age in the United States was still 15.9 percent during that same month

The “seasonally adjusted” number of Asian-American workers  in the U.S. labor force decreased by 102,000 (from 9,040,000 to 8,942,000)) between September and October 2015; while the unemployment rate for Asian-American workers was still 3.5 percent in October 2015, according to the “seasonally adjusted” data.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white female workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States was still 3.9 percent in October 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white male workers over 20 years-of-age was still 4.1 percent during that same month. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all white workers (youth, male and female) was still 4.4 percent in October 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” total number of unemployed white workers increased by 23,000 (from 5,364,000 to 5,387,000) between September and October 2015..

In October 2015, the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all female workers over 16 years-of-age was still 4.9 percent;; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all female workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States was still 4.5 percent during that same month..

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all male workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States was still 5.1 percent in October 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all male workers over 20 years-of-age was still 4.7 percent during that same month.

In October 2015, a total of 7,908,000 workers in the United States were still officially unemployed, according to the “seasonally adjusted” data; and the “seasonally adjusted”” unemployment rate for all U.S. workers (male, female and youth) was still  5 percent during that same month.

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

“…The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.0 percent…The number of unemployed persons (7.9 million)…essentially unchanged in October…The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 2.1 million in October and has shown little change since June. These individuals accounted for 26.8 percent of the unemployed in October……

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers)…5.8 million in October. 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 October, 1.9 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force…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 665,000 discouraged workers in October, little changed 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 continued to trend down in October (-5,000). Employment in…manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little or no change over the month…The change in total nonfarm payroll employment…for September was revised from  +142,000 to +137,000…”.