Workers install solar panels during the completion phase of a 10-acre solar roof atop AltaSea’s research and development facility at the Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro neighborhood, on April 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
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The unemployment rate for Black workers fell slightly in July as the broader labor market remains tight.
The unemployment rate among black workers fell to 5.8% on Friday, according to the Department of Labor. That is less than the 6.0% in June. It is also lower than the 6.0% rate of the same period last year. Broken down by gender, unemployment among black men fell from 5.9% in June to 5.3% in July. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for Black women fell to 5.2%, down from 5.4% the month before.
These figures reflect the continued tightness in the broader labor market. In July, the US unemployment rate was little changed at 3.5%, just above the lowest level since late 1969.
“It shows that the labor market is strong and in a good place,” said Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute. “Even with the rate hikes the Federal Reserve has implemented, we continue to see unemployment remain low.”
For black workers, the labor force participation rate, which measures the number of people working or looking for work, was also slightly higher, at 62.7%.
The unemployment rate among Latin American workers also rose slightly, from 4.4% in July to 4.4% in June. The rate for Hispanic men increased from 3.8% to 4.0%. The percentage of Latin American women decreased slightly from 4.1% to 4.0%.
Wilson, director of EPI’s program on race, ethnicity and the economy, said the slight increase could be partly due to higher unemployment rates in the leisure and hospitality, transportation and utilities sectors, as well as construction.
“It seems to me that some of these patterns are related to what’s happening in industries where different groups of workers make up a larger share of those employed in those industries,” Wilson said.
Meanwhile, unemployment among Asian workers fell to 2.3% in July, down 0.9 percentage points from 3.2% in June.
Overall, however, Wilson says the report shows a positive trend for the labor market, especially as wage growth continues to show strength even as inflation falls. In July, the average hourly wage rose 0.4% for the month, higher than the 0.3% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
“We are now actually seeing inflation falling faster than wage growth is slowing, meaning real wages are actually rising,” Wilson said.
“These are signals that we could have a so-called soft landing as the Fed tries to contain and address inflation while ensuring we continue to have a strong labor market,” Wilson added.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed reporting.