Signage for the Healthcare Careers Fair at Cape Fear Community College on Wednesday, February 28, 2023 in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
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Data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the unemployment rate for Asian Americans fell from June to July, bucking the overall trend.
The Asian American unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in July from 4.1% the previous month. The result contrasts with the overall unemployment rate, which rose to 4.3% last month from 4.1% in June.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for white Americans rose to 3.8% in July, up from 3.5% the previous month. The unemployment rate for Hispanic Americans rose to 5.3% last month, up from 4.9% in June. The unemployment rate for black workers remained steady at 6.3%.
Taking gender into account, the unemployment rate for black women is also declining, dropping to 5.5% in July from 5.7% the previous month. For black men, the figure jumped to 6.6% last month, up from 6.1% in June.
The unemployment rate for white men rose to 3.5% in July from 3.2%, while that for white women rose to 3.4% last month from 3.1%. The unemployment rate for Hispanic men likewise rose to 4.4% from 4.2% last month, while the unemployment rate for Hispanic female workers jumped from 4.5% to 5.4% in July.
Unemployment rates for Asian workers based on gender were not readily available.
But Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, stressed that these figures contain large fluctuations, especially for smaller population groups, and cautioned against overinterpreting the trends.
Indeed, Gould stressed that while the overall unemployment rate rose last month, the labor market remains strong for prime-age workers, those between the ages of 25 and 54. The employment rate for this age group was 80.9% in July, he said. Gould added that female workers in this age group continue to recover.
“We’ve got more people re-entering the workforce, and a lot of them can’t find work, which is why the unemployment rate has gone up,” Gould said in an interview with CNBC. “But on the flip side, things are definitely getting better.”
Last month, the overall labor force participation rate rose to 62.7% in July from 62.6% the previous month. This indicator represents the percentage of the population that is currently employed or actively looking for work.
The labor force participation rate for white workers was 62.3% last month, up from 62.2% in June. The labor force participation rate for black workers was 63.2% in July, up from 62.7% the previous month.
The labor force participation rate for Hispanic workers was 67.3% in July, down slightly from 67.5% the previous month, while the labor force participation rate for Asian workers was 65.9% compared to 65.7% last month.
—CNBC’s Gabriel Cortez contributed to this report.
