Part 2: The demographics of the unemployed for October 9th:
Bottom Line: The demos of the unemployed tell a much more instructive story about what's really going on in our labor market. As I do monthly, here are the government reported unemployment rates and my adjusted rate based on demographics:
Asians: 3.7%
White: 3.7%
Hispanic: 5.1%
Black: 7.0%
Here are the adjusted rates:
Asians: 7.3%
White: 7.3%
Hispanic: 10%
Black: 13.8%
The news was actually really solid demographically this month. We saw the most improvement with minorities, Hispanic and black adults, which is clearly where we need the most improvement. The trouble is - how many people just weren't able to file for unemployment benefits due to the storms? Will these numbers in minority groups soar next month? We certainly hope not but it's a possibility and something we'll need to watch closely to have an idea of how systemic the hurricane impact was/is on those who're most vulnerable in our labor market. In the third part of today's employment story we'll explore how much more money we're making...