Despite the creation of 257,00 jobs outside the farming sector, unemployment increased slightly to 5.7 percent in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bureau’s monthly jobs report isn’t good news for everyone. Youth unemployment (16-19 years old) is almost 19 percent, up 2 percent from December.
African Americans still have a10.3 percent unemployment compared to 4.9 percent for whites and 4 for Asians. African-American youth unemployment is slightly above 30 percent.
Also, by using the BLS’ U6 measure, which takes into account discouraged workers no longer looking for jobs and people not working but claiming to be ready for work, general unemployment would be around 11.3 percent, slightly up from December.
In addition, the labor force participation rate (people employed or actively looking for a job) increased to 62.9 percent. Since October 2013, labor force participation has hovered the April 1978 rate.
Finally, part-time workers who couldn’t find a full-time job have increased slightly by 20,000 compared to December.