The unemployment rate for black workers has hit its lowest point since the government began tracking the data in the early 1970s.
In December, the black unemployment rate hit a record low of 6.8 percent. It's the lowest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the data in 1972, a year in which the rate ranged from 11.2 percent to 9.4 percent. The rate for black or African-American workers aged 16 years and older have never fallen below 7 percent in the 45 years the data has been tracked.
Through the last year, the black unemployment rate rose to 8 percent in March and fell back to 7 percent in September before it fell again in December. Compared to the black unemployment rate of 6.8 percent, the unemployment rate for white workers in December was 3.7 percent.
Though the black unemployment rate fell, the U.S. economy added a disappointing 148,000 non-farm jobs in December, short of the 190,000 expected. There was also an unexpected loss of 20,000 retail jobs during the holiday season.
The biggest gains came from health care (31,000), construction (30,000) and manufacturing (25,000). Bars and restaurants added 25,000, while professional and business services grew by 19,000. The private sector added 250,000 jobs in December, well above the 190,000 jobs expected by economists polled by Reuters. The national unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent, according to a Labor Department report Friday.
Source: cnbc.com
