The demographics of the unemployed – February 2020
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: 3%
- White: 3.1%
- Hispanic: 4.3%
- Black: 6%
And by gender:
- Men – 3.3%
- Women – 3.2%
Here are the adjusted rates once you factor in the long-term unemployed, underemployed and marginally attached workers:
- Asians: 5.7% (higher)
- White: 5.9% (lower)
- Hispanic: 8.2% (higher)
- Black: 11.5% (higher)
Boiling down the demographics of what’s really going on provides additional context for just how good the employment picture is right now. But what’s most instructive this month is to understand why unemployment rates went higher for various demographics. As I broke down in the “Real Unemployment Rate” story today - there were 574,000 re-entrants into the jobs market in January. The reason unemployment rates went higher for minorities is due to more Asians, Hispanics and Black adults reengaging the labor market due to the opportunities available to start 2020. Not due to fewer jobs being available. This is a good problem to have. The white unemployment rate was the only to decrease during the month and is now at a modern data record low. All other demographics had reached record low unemployment rates at some point over the past year. That’s now the case for all demographics.
Generally speaking, we’re continuing to see the best jobs economy with record opportunity for just about everyone in the workforce. This has the potential to not only bridge income inequality overtime, but also help lower crime and improve local economies in more challenged neighborhoods. Additionally, it has the added benefit of taking families who’d previously counted on government assistance and creating self-reliance and the ability to improve their lives through opportunity.