Black Youth "Seasonally Adjusted" Unemployment Rate Increases To 23.7 Percent In December 2015

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 23.5 to 23.7 percent between November and December 2015; while the number of unemployed Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased by 13,000 (from 161,000 to 174,000) during the same period, according to the “seasonally adjusted” and revised Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 13.5 to 14.9 percent between November and December 2015; while the number of unemployed white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased by 97,000 (from 590,000 to 687,000) during the same period.

Between November and December 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age in the United States increased from 15.6 to 16.1 percent; while the “seasonally adjusted” total number of unemployed youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased to 938,000 in December 2015. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 16.5 percent in December 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed Latino youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased by 10,000 (from 183,000 to 193,000) between November and December 2015.

In December 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States was still 8.7 percent; while the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all Black workers (youth, male and female) in the United States was still 8.3 percent during that same month. In addition, between November and December 2015, the “seasonally adjusted” number of Black workers not in the U.S. labor force increased by 42,000 (from 12,110,000 to 12,152,000).

Between November and December 2015, the “seasonally adjusted” number of Black female workers over 20 years-of-age in the U.S. labor force decreased by 81,000 (from 10,009,000 to 9,928,000); while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age was still 6.9 percent in December 2015.

The “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed Latino male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States increased by 19,000 (from 776,000 to 795,000) between November and December 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” number of Latino workers not in the U.S. labor force increased by 41,000 (from 13,780,000 to 13,821,000). In addition, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all Latino workers (youth, male and female) in the United States was still 6.3 percent in December 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latina female workers over 20 years-of-age was also still 6.3 percent during that same month.

Between November and December 2015, the “seasonally adjusted” number of Latina female workers over 20 years-of-age in the U.S. labor force decreased by 108,000 (from 10,754,000 to 10,646,000); while the “seasonally adjusted” number of Latina female workers who still had jobs decreased by 53,000 (from 10,031,000 to 9,978,000) during the same period.

The “seasonally adjusted” number of  unemployed Asian-American workers in the United States increased by 9,000 (from 354,000 to 363,000) between  November and December 2015; while the unemployment rate for Asian-American workers increased from 3.9 to 4 percent during the same period, according to the “seasonally adjusted” data. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” number of Asian-American workers not in the U.S. labor force increased by 41,000 (from 5,344,000 to 5,385,000) between November and December 2015.

Between November and December 2015, the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all white workers (youth, male and female) in the United States increased from 4.4 to 4.5 percent; while the “seasonally adjusted” total number of unemployed white workers in the United States increased by 139,000 (from 5,381,000 to 5,520,000) during the same period. In addition, the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States increased from 4.1 to 4.2 percent between November and December 2015; while the official “seasonally adjusted” number of jobless white male workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 83,000 (from 2,619,000 to 2,702,000) during the same period.

The “seasonally adjusted” number of white female workers over 20 years-of-age in the U.S. labor force decreased by 117,000 (from 54,638,000 to 54,521,000) between November and December 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white female workers over 20 years-of-age was still 3.9 percent in December 2015. In addition, the “seasonally adjusted” number of white female workers over 20 years-of-age who still had jobs decreased by 75,000 (from 52,466,000 to 52, 391,000) between November and December 2015.

In December 2015, the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all female workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States was still 4.8 percent;; while the official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all female workers over 20 years-of-age was still 4.4 percent during that same month. In addition, the number of female workers over 20 years-of-age in the U.S. labor force decreased by 70,000 (from 71,139,000 to 71,069,000) between November and December 2015, according to the “seasonally adjusted” data.

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all male workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States  was still 5.2 percent in December 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 addition, the “seasonally adjusted” number of all unemployed male workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States increased by 9,000 (from 4,323,000 to 4,330,000) between November and December 2015; while the “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed male workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 8,000 (from 3,800,000 to 3,808,000) during the same period..

In December 2015, 7,904,000 workers in the United States were 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’ January 8, 2016 press release:

“…The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent…Mining employment continued to decline…Seasonally adjusted household survey data have been revised…

“The number of unemployed persons, at 7.9 million, was essentially unchanged in December…The rates for adult men (4.7 percent), adult women (4.4 percent), teenagers (16.1 percent), whites (4.5 percent), Asians (4.0 percent), and Hispanics (6.3 percent) showed little or no change…

“The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 2.1 million in December and accounted for 26.3 percent of the unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed has shown little movement since June…The civilian labor force participation rate, at 62.6 percent, was little changed in December and has shown little movement in recent months…

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed at 6.0 million in December…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 December, 1.8 million persons were marginally attacked to the labor force…These individuals…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 663,000 discouraged workers in December, 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 decline in December (-8,000)…Mining lost 129,000 jobs in 2015, with most of the loss in support activities for mining

“Manufacturing employment changed little in December. Employment in…wholesale trade, retail trade, financial activities, and government, changed little over the month…”