THE U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASED IN AUGUST, AND BLACK WORKERS' LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION FELL

Sep 2, 2022

[source: CNBC]

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. unemployment rate rose 0.2% point to 3.7% in August. Nonfarm payrolls came in at 315,000 and fell in line with estimates of 318,000.

Hispanic and Black workers rose sharply from 3.9% and 6% in July to 4.5% and 6.4%. However, Black workers' labor force participation is the only declining group and their employment-population ratio also plummeted. In August, Black labor force participation fell to 61.8% from 62% in July, while the employment-to-population ratio dipped to 57.9% from 58.3%. The Federal Reserve’s campaign to quickly raise rates to tame surging prices may be causing more damage to the labor market, which tends to appear among historically disadvantaged groups like Black workers.

White female workers saw their unemployment rate tick up to 2.8% from 2.6%. Hispanic female workers also experienced a sharp increase in their unemployment rate, rising to 4.3% from 3.2% in the prior month.