RECENT UNEMPLOYMENT DATA – MARCH 2005

UNEMPLOYMENT IS DECREASING BUT THE RATE REMAINS THE SAME FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN

According to the unemployment figures for March 2005, employment increased by 110,000 and the unemployment rate declined to a record 5.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.  Construction, mining, health care, and wholesale trade added to their payrolls for the month of March.

 

Both the number of unemployed persons, a recorded total of 7.7 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.2 percent, decreased in March compared to 5.7 a year ago.  The jobless rate was down from 5.7 percent a year earlier.  Unemployment rates decreased for white and Latino adult men but remained pretty unchanged for African American men at 10.3%, the highest for all ethnic groups. Unemployment rates for Asian men, remained pretty unchanged as weas the lowest for all groups averaging 3.5 percent.

 

The length of unemployment is declining, in March, persons who had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more accounted for 21.5 percent of the unemployed, down from 23.8 percent a year earlier. 

Lower Unemployment Rates in Metropolitan Areas

Education and Health Services Lead the Pack

According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, 261 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier.

Twenty-five metropolitan areas registered jobless rates below 3.0 percent, with 12 of these located in the South, 7 in the Midwest, and 5 in the Northeast.  Six of the seven areas with unemployment rates of at least 10.0 percent (almost twice the national average) were located in California.  The national unemployment rate in the US was 5.1 percent for October. Ninety-eight metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 percent in October, up from 67 areas a year earlier, while 26 areas registered unemployment rates of at least 7.0 percent, down from 45 areas in October 2003.

Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 1990 census population of 1 million or more, 45 areas reported lower jobless rates than in October 2003, 5 posted higher rates, and 1 had no change.

Over the year, employment growth was most widespread in education and health services, with 214 of 274 metropolitan areas experiencing job gains in this industry sector.  Many areas also experienced employment growth in professional and business services; construction; and leisure and hospitality.  Manufacturing remained the weakest industry, with 144 metropolitan areas posting employment losses

Top 10 States with the highest Unemployment Rates

District of Columbia 8.5%

Oregon 7.2%

Alaska 7.2%

Michigan 6.6%

South Carolina 6.5%

Ohio 6.3%

Mississippi 6.3%

Illinois 6.1%

California 5.7%

Arkansas 5.7%

Top 10 States with the lowest Unemployment Rates

Vermont 3.1%

Hawaii 3.3%

South Dakota 3.3%

Virginia 3.3%

New Hampshire 3.4%

Nebraska 3.5%

Nevada 3.6%

North Dakota 3.7%

Wyoming 3.8%

Maryland 3.9% 

Danielle Taylor and Carla J. Stewart, Staff Writers