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Unemployment fell for Black women in February, more joined labor force

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7 months ago

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A sign posted outside a restaurant looking to hire workers in Miami on May 5, 2023.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Unemployment among Black women fell in February as the number of those looking for work increased, data released Friday by the U.S. government showed.

The U.S. unemployment rate edged higher last month to 3.9% from 3.7% in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. Adult women age 20 and older in the labor force followed that trend, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 3.5% from 3.2%.

The percentage of unemployed Black women, however, fell to 4.4% from 4.8%. This comes as the labor force participation rate within the group — which measures how many workers are currently employed or searching for work — rises to 63.4% from 62.9%.

Valerie Wilson, director at the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy, said that the labor market is showing positive signs for Black women. She pointed to the decrease in the unemployment rate, while the employment/population ratio edged higher to 60.6% from 59.9%.

“That seems unambiguously that things are moving in a positive direction,” she told CNBC.

As for why the cohort was able to buck the trend, Wilson said it could be due to the specific industries that added jobs last month.

“We saw increases in health care and government services, which are sectors where we see a significant number of Black women being employed,” she said. “The fact that those were two sectors that added jobs and had the highest job growth in the last month is probably a factor in that increased participation rate and reduced unemployment rate.”

For Hispanic women, unemployment rose to 5% from 4.3%.

Overall, with the unemployment rate still sitting below 4%, this month’s report paints the picture of a strong labor market, Wilson said.

“At this point, at that lower rate of unemployment, you’re not going to get huge shifts as long as that growth is still positive on the net,” she said. While economists could still see slight moves from month to month, at the current pace of U.S. job growth, the labor market should remain stable and steady.

— CNBC’s Gabriel Cortes contributed to this report.

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Economics

What would Robert F. Kennedy junior mean for American health?

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3 hours ago

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November 15, 2024

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AS IN MOST marriages of convenience, Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy junior make unusual bedfellows. One enjoys junk food, hates exercise and loves oil. The other talks of clean food, getting America moving again and wants to eliminate oils of all sorts (from seed oil to Mr Trump’s beloved “liquid gold”). One has called the covid-19 vaccine a “miracle”, the other is a long-term vaccine sceptic. Yet on November 14th Mr Trump announced that Mr Kennedy was his pick for secretary of health and human services (HHS).

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Economics

What would Robert Kennedy junior mean for American health?

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8 hours ago

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November 15, 2024

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AS IN MOST marriages of convenience, Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy junior make unusual bedfellows. One enjoys junk food, hates exercise and loves oil. The other talks of clean food, getting America moving again and wants to eliminate oils of all sorts (from seed oil to Mr Trump’s beloved “liquid gold”). One has called the covid-19 vaccine a “miracle”, the other is a long-term vaccine sceptic. Yet on November 14th Mr Trump announced that Mr Kennedy was his pick for secretary of health and human services (HHS).

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Economics

UK economy ekes out 0.1% growth, below expectations

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9 hours ago

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November 15, 2024

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Bank of England in the City of London on 6th November 2024 in London, United Kingdom. The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the primary central business district CBD of London. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City is also colloquially known as the Square Mile. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images

The U.K. economy expanded by 0.1% in the third quarter of the year, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.

That was below the expectations of economists polled by Reuters who forecast 0.2% gross domestic product growth on the previous three months of the year.

It comes after inflation in the U.K. fell sharply to 1.7% in September, dipping below the Bank of England’s 2% target for the first time since April 2021. The fall in inflation helped pave the way for the central bank to cut rates by 25 basis points on Nov. 7, bringing its key rate to 4.75%.

The Bank of England said last week it expects the Labour Government’s tax-raising budget to boost GDP by 0.75 percentage points in a year’s time. Policymakers also noted that the government’s fiscal plan had led to an increase in their inflation forecasts.

The outcome of the recent U.S. election has fostered much uncertainty about the global economic impact of another term from President-elect Donald Trump. While Trump’s proposed tariffs are expected to be widely inflationary and hit the European economy hard, some analysts have said such measures could provide opportunities for the British economy.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey gave little away last week on the bank’s views of Trump’s tariff agenda, but he did reference risks around global fragmentation.

“Let’s wait and see where things get to. I’m not going to prejudge what might happen, what might not happen,” he told reporters during a press briefing.

This is a breaking news story. Please refresh for updates.

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