Overall Unemployment: 4.2%
African America: 6.3%
Latino America: 5.2%
European America: 3.8%
Asian America: 3.0%
Analysis: European Americans unemployment rate rises slightly to 3.8 percent. Asian Americans decreased 50 basis points and Latino Americans increased 10 basis points from March, respectively. African America’s unemployment rate increased for the third straight month with a 10 basis points from March. African, European, and Latino Americans unemployment rates are at their highest over the past five months.
AFRICAN AMERICAN EMPLOYMENT REVIEW
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN:
Unemployment Rate – 5.6%
Participation Rate – 69.2%
Employed – 9,918,000
Unemployed – 586,000
African American Men (AAM) saw a decrease in their unemployment rate by 50 basis points in April. The group had a negligible decrease in their participation rate in April by 10 basis points. African American Men added 48,000 jobs in April and saw their unemployed drop by 55,000.
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN:
Unemployment Rate – 6.1%
Participation Rate – 61.2%
Employed – 10,262,000
Unemployed – 663,000
African American Women saw an increase by 100 basis points in April. The group increased their participation rate in April by 30 basis points. African American Women saw lost 38,000 jobs in April and saw their unmployed increase by 106,000. The number of African American Women employed is at a five month low and number of unemployed at a five month high.
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS:
Unemployment Rate – 19.6%
Participation Rate – 28.3%
Employed – 610,000
Unemployed – 149,000
African American Teenagers unemployment rate decreased by 120 basis points. The group saw their participation rate decreased by 260 basis points in April. African American Teenagers saw their lost 45,000 jobs in April and saw their number of unemployed also decrease 23,000.
African American Men-Women Job Gap: African American Women currently have 344,000 more jobs than African American Men in April. This is a decrease from 430,000 in March. For the second straight month, this is the lowest ever reported gap by HBCU Money since we began tracking the data.
CONCLUSION: The overall economy added 177,000 jobs in April while African America lost 36,000 jobs. African American Women have shedded 304,000 jobs since February dropping their employed to the lowest number in the past five months for the second straight month. From New York Times, “U.S. employers added 177,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department reported on Friday. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent. Both numbers, which demonstrate that the U.S. labor market remains in good condition, are based on surveys taken in the immediate wake of the Trump administration’s move in early April to institute the highest level of tariffs on imports since the 1930s. The gain extended the streak of U.S. job growth to 52 months.”
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
HBCU Money 