Unemployment Rates Decline for Men, Women, Blacks and Youths

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in the civilian population. The

rates fell from October in every category, but black rates remain 

twice as high as white rates. Youths are 16-19 years old. Source: Chart
by CityEconomist based on BLS Table A2, December 7, 2012.

The overall job numbers this morning, for November, were good. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent and jobs increased by 146,000, although some prior figures were adjusted downward.

But how broadly in the working population was the improvement felt?

Answer: The seasonally adjusted unemployment numbers, for November 2012, show declines from October for both whites and blacks, and in the major categories of the civilian population.

The bad news is that the differences are still stark. Blacks have an unemployment rate approximately twice as high as whites.

The improvement in the black unemployment figures was substantial across the board, between 1.0 and 1.1 percentage points. The improvement in the larger base of adult whites was 0.1 to 0.2 of a percentage point. The rate for white youths fell by 0.4 of a percentage point.