May 4, 2012 | 8:58 AM | By

Unemployment Declines Among Blacks, Rises Slightly Among Whites

Nationwide unemployment dropped slightly in April, but the job outlook differs among racial groups, according data released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. The overall, seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 8.2 percent in March to 8.1 percent in April.

African Americans made the biggest gains, seeing unemployment decline from 14 to 13 percent. Yet joblessness remains the highest for that group. Latino unemployment went unchanged at 10.3 percent, and white unemployment rose from 7.3 to 7.4 percent.

Local unemployment rates will be released May 18. D.C.’s March unemployment rate was 9.8 percent, but joblessness varies by community. Ward 3′s March unemployment rate reached 2.5 percent, while it hovered just above 24 percent in Ward 8.

 

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment
rate was little changed at 8.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Employment increased in professional and business services,
retail trade, and health care, but declined in transportation and warehousing.

Read more at: www.bls.gov