A sign outside a restaurant looking for workers on May 5, 2023 in Miami.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Black women’s unemployment fell in February as the number of people looking for work increased, data released by the U.S. government showed Friday.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, the US unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9% last month from 3.7% in January. Adult women aged 20 and over in the labor force followed this trend, with the unemployment rate rising from 3.2% to 3.5%.
However, the share of unemployed black women fell from 4.8% to 4.4%. This comes as the labor force participation rate within the group – which measures how many workers are currently employed or looking for work – rises from 62.9% to 63.4%.
Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Race, Ethnicity and Economics Program, said the job market is showing positive signs for black women. She pointed to the decline in the unemployment rate, while the employment ratio rose from 59.9% to 60.6%.
“It seems clear that things are moving in a positive direction,” she told CNBC.
As for why the cohort was able to buck the trend, Wilson said it could be due to the specific industries that added jobs last month.
“We saw increases in health care and public services, which are sectors that we believe employ significant numbers of Black women,” she said. “The fact that these were two sectors that created jobs and had the highest job growth last month is likely a factor in the increased labor force participation and reduced unemployment rate.”
Among Hispanic women, unemployment rose from 4.3% to 5%.
Overall, this month’s report paints a picture of a strong labor market, with the unemployment rate still below 4%, Wilson said.
“At this point, at this lower unemployment rate, as long as growth on the grid is still positive, there won’t be any big changes,” she said. While economists could still see slight movements from month to month, the labor market should remain stable and stable at the current pace of U.S. job growth.
—CNBC’s Gabriel Cortes contributed to this report.
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2024-03-08 16:46:53
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