Business
African-American unemployment rises despite stronger hiring numbers
Job applicants fill out applications for positions at a new bar and restaurant in Detroit. PHOTO/Paul Sancya/AP
U.S. employers added 171,000 jobs in October and hiring was stronger over the previous two months than first thought, pointing to a slowly improving jobs picture that could enhance President Barack Obama’s re-election chances. The unemployment rate inched up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in September as more workers resumed job hunts.
African-American unemployment rose from 13.4 to 14.3 percent and African-American teen joblessness rose to a dramatic high of 40.5 percent.
Since July, the economy has created an average of 173,000 jobs a month, up from 67,000 a month from April through June.
Still, Obama will face voters in Tuesday’s election with the highest unemployment rate of any incumbent since President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The rate ticked up because more Americans without jobs started looking for work. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively searching.
Investors were pleased by the news. The Dow Jones industrial average futures were flat before it came out at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), and within minutes they were up 30 points.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed to 1.77 percent from 1.72 percent, a sign that investors were moving money out of bonds and into stocks.
Most of the details in the report were positive. The government revised the jobs figures to show that 84,000 more jobs were added than previously estimated.
