African American unemployment rises in October – hits 13.1%

African American unemployment rose slightly to 13.1 percent (from 12.9 recorded in September) and black teen joblessness remained the highest of any group at 36 percent.

Employers in the United States added 204,000 jobs in October, an unexpected burst of hiring during a month in which the federal government was partially shut down for 16 days.

The U.S. Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent in September, likely because furloughed federal workers were counted as unemployed. The report noted that the shutdown did not affect total jobs.

The unemployment rate of African Americans stands at double the unemployment rate of white Americans, which is at 6.3 percent during the same period.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press