Black Women Unemployment Rate Falls In December

The decline comes post a concerning uptick in November for the Black community.

According to a new report from CNBC, the unemployment rate for Black women finally fell in December, after a consistent and alarming increase for the month of November.

For Black women, the unemployment rate for December dropped from 5.9% in November to 5.4% in December. November’s number preceded a jobless rate that rose almost an entire percentage point for the population.

The labor participation rate, which includes both those employed and those actively seeking work, rose to 62.4%.

Experts attribute the change to an unexpected increase in nonfarm payrolls. The payrolls grew during December and around the holiday season, rising to 256,000 in the month and quickly topping economists’ prediction for a gain of just 155,000. This caused the overall unemployment rate to fall to 4.1%, which indicates a resilient labor market and could have affected Black women as well.

As reported by UCA, the nonfarm payroll is a value that measures the number of workers in the United States, excluding only those who work in farming, private households, non-profits, and sole proprietorships or self-employment, as well as those who are certified active military service members. The value accounts for approximately 80% of the total workers who contribute to the gross domestic product of our country, which includes the majority of Black women.

For Black workers overall in the country, the unemployment rate was consistent with the trend of Black women, and also declined in December, falling to 6.1% from a rate of 6.4% in November and 5.7% before it in October.

Senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, Elise Gould, spoke on the concerning trend in November and the months prior. She said, “There were some concerns about the Black unemployment rate going up. It’s still significantly higher than for other groups — and that’s still a concern — but nothing in this report jumps out as particularly problematic.”

Aside from Black women, Black men also saw an improvement. Unemployment rates for Black men fell to 5.6% in December from 6% in November — although the labor force participation rate for the group declined to 68.2% at the end of the year from November’s 68.7%.

In comparison, highlighting the racial disparity in the workforce, for white workers the jobless rate fell even further from 3.8% to just 3.6% in December.