Recruitment signs will appear on the windows of Chipotle in Alexandria, Virginia on August 22, 2024.
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The unemployment rate among black men improved significantly in February.
Overall unemployment rate rose from 4% to 4.1% from 4% in January, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. Data shows that non-farm salaries have also grown overwhelming.
Certainly, the February unemployment rate comes amid President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s push to cut the federal workforce from the efficiency of governments. According to Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Institute for Economic Policy, the full impact of these reductions has not yet been unfolded, and further uncertainty around the direction of the US economy and tariff decisions could impact employment.
“It’s calm before the storm,” she said. “In most cases, the data doesn’t show layoffs yet.”
Black men’s unemployment rate improved in February
For black men over the age of 20, the unemployment rate fell significantly from 6.9% in January to 5.5% in February. That latest figure shows a dropdown near the level seen in December, with Black men unemployment rates of 5.6% in this cohort.
The unemployment rate for black women was announced at 5.4% in February and remains stable in January and December. These results came after the rate surged to 5.9% last November. In comparison, the unemployment rate for black workers overall fell to 6% in February, down from 6.2% in January.
“You see a significant amount of volatility every month. It’s a bit hard to ignore the huge drop in unemployment rates among black men… that’s a positive sign,” Gould said.
High unemployment rates among Hispanic and white women
The unemployment rate among Hispanic women rose from 4.5% the previous month to 5.1% in February. Hispanic men saw a similar jump in unemployment rates. This rose from 4.0% last month to 4.6%.
For white women, the unemployment rate in February reached up to 3.4% from 3.3%, while for white men it rose from 3.1% to 3.5% last month. White workers’ unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in February from 3.5% in January.
For Asian workers, unemployment rate fell to 3.2% in February, down from 3.7% the previous month.
Rick Leader, the chief investment officer of BlackRock’s global bonds, said that his salary report in February was “a lot of footnotes.”
“For example, reporting investigations were conducted following a period of significant work transfers in California related to wildfires and other adverse weather conditions around the United States.
– Gabriel Cortez of CNBC contributed to this report.
