The demographics of the unemployed – July 2019
Bottom Line: The demos of the unemployed tell a much more specific 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 ethnicity:
- Asians: 2.1%
- White: 3.3%
- Hispanic: 4.3%
- Black: 6%
And by gender:
- Women – 3.3%
- Men – 3.3%
Here are the adjusted rates once you factor in the long-term unemployed, underemployed and marginally attached workers:
- Asians: 4.1% (lower – record low)
- White: 6.4% (lower)
- Hispanic: 8.34 (higher)
- Black: 11.7% (lower – record low)
The demographic story is historic for a third straight month. The real Hispanic unemployment rate was up a tenth after last month’s new record low but Asian and Black unemployment rates both hit new all-time lows. It’s especially encouraging to see the improvement in Black unemployment given the disparity in unemployment rates compared to all other ethnicity's. By breaking down the demographics we can see that those most positively impacted continue to be minorities. This is truly great news.
Still, we continue to see the disconnects in the labor market based on demographics and it paints a picture of where and with whom we generally need to be focusing efforts going forward. Hopefully what's happening with minority progress continues through the summer.