Unemployment and demographics in September 2008
October 07, 2008
The unemployment rate (6.1 percent) was unchanged in September, following a 0.4-percentage point rise in August. The number of unemployed persons was little changed at 9.5 million. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points.
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The unemployment rates for adult men (6.1 percent) and blacks (11.4 percent) rose in September. The jobless rates for teenagers (19.1 percent), whites (5.4 percent) and Hispanics (7.8 percent) were essentially unchanged.
The unemployment rate for adult women declined to 4.9 percent, partly offsetting an increase in August.
These data are from the Current Population Survey program and are seasonally adjusted. More information can be found in "The Employment Situation: September 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-1367.
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