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The unemployment rate for Black workers fell in August, bucking the broader trend of a higher overall unemployment rate.
The overall unemployment rate rose to 3.8% last month, the highest since February 2022. That happened as the labor force participation rate – a measure of the number of people working or looking for work – rose to 62.8%, the highest level since 2022. February 2020.
The unemployment rate fell among Black workers, falling to 5.3% in August, down from 5.8% in July.
Taking gender into account, the unemployment rate for black men aged 20 and older fell to 5%, down from 5.3% in July. Black women saw their unemployment rate drop to 4.7%, down from 5.2% the month before.
“I am relieved that the unemployment rate for black people is going down; it was slightly higher a few months earlier,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “Hopefully this is a positive trend.”
Among black workers, labor force participation was little changed from the previous month. In August it was 62.6%, compared to 62.7% in July.
However, the unemployment rate has become higher for Asians and Hispanics.
Among Asians, the unemployment rate rose from 2.3% in July to 3.1% in August. Hispanics saw their unemployment rate rise to 4.9%, up from 4.4% a month earlier.
Gould noted that the household data underlying the racial and ethnicity figures are based on smaller samples, so there can be significant volatility from one month to the next.
However, the latest release highlighted a potential area of concern: the decline in state and local government education jobs. Local government teaching wages fell by more than 10,000 in August, while state government teaching jobs fell by nearly 5,000.
“State and local education is down,” Gould said, adding that she is keeping an eye on this sector because it is a notable employer for Black workers and women. “That sector is worrying, especially now that students are returning to school this month.”
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this story.