MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

June US unemployment 4.6%; Hispanics 5.3%

The United States Hispanic unemployment rate increased in June, to 5.3 % from 5% in May, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labour. The overall U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.6%, maintaining the five-year low it reached in May.

The unemployment rate is the ratio of unemployed people divided by the total labour force, comprised of both the employed and unemployed. People are considered unemployed only if they are actively seeking work at the time they are surveyed for the sample. Therefore, whether people are even considered in the labour force also fluctuates and can affect the unemployment rate.

In June, Hispanics gained 108,000 new jobs. However, the total Hispanic labour force increased by 179,000, from a combination of a population increase of 87,000 and entry into the labour market of 92,000 people that were previously considered not in the labour force. Together, this increased the number of unemployed by 71,000, raising the unemployment rate by 0.3 percentage points.

On an annual basis employment of Hispanics increased by 1,021,000 jobs bringing the Hispanic unemployment rate down from 5.8% in June 2005 to the current 5.3%. Overall, the U.S. economy added 2,613,000 jobs since June 2005. Hispanics filled 39.1% of those positions, despite being only 13.7% of the total U.S. labour force.

Looking at the seasonally unadjusted data for Hispanic sub-groups, the unemployment rate for Hispanic men (20 years and over) increased to 3.7% in June from 3.3% in May. Though Hispanic men found 20,000 new jobs in June, it was not enough to absorb the 73,000 individuals that joined the labour force, which increased the unemployed by 53,000.

Hispanic men have one of the highest labour force participation rates of any group. In June, it reached 84.9 percent, compared to the 76.0 percent participation rate of all men age 20 and over.

The unemployment rate for Hispanic women 20 years and over also rose, from 5.0 in May to 5.1% in June. There were 55,000 new jobs for Hispanic women in June, not enough to absorb the increase into the labour force of 61,000 Hispanic women, increasing the unemployed by approximately 5,000.

The unemployment rate for Hispanic youths (age 16 to 19) increased by a whopping 6.3 percentage points in June, to 20.1% from 13.8% in May. With school letting out, 139,000 Hispanic teenagers joined the labour market. While 46,000 found work, approximately 94,000 were added to the rolls of the unemployed.