SPECIAL TO TRICE EDNEY
NEWS WIRE FROM NORTHSTARNEWSTODAY.COM
May’s Black unemployment rate was 6.2 percent, much higher than the 5.7 percent compared to the same month a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.
The jobless rate for Black men 20 and older was 6.3 percent in May, higher than 6.0 percent for the same month last year, but lower than April’s rate of 6.8 percent.
The unemployment rate for Black women 20 and older was 5.1 percent in May, higher than the 4.4 percent recorded for the same month a year earlier.
May 2019’s unemployment rate, however, was lower than 5.3 percent recorded in April, the previous month.
The nation’s nonfarm payrolls added 75,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent. The number of unemployed persons was little changed at 5.9 million.
BLS reported that 589,000 Black men 20 and older were unemployed in May compared with 645,000 in April.
Health care, professional and business services added jobs, BLS reported.
The jobless rate among African American men at 6.3 percent is much higher compared to White men (3.3 percent), Asians (2.5 percent) and Hispanics (4.2 percent).