Business
African-American unemployment rose to 14.4 % in June
Jamal Randle, from left, Loren Cowling, and Dave Jackson fill out applications for positions at a new bar and restaurant in Detroit, Sept. 25, 2009. PHOTO/Paul Sancya/AP Photo
In the days leading up to the release of the June jobs report, economists feared that the month’s unemployment figure would show little change. They were right as far as the national rate is concerned. But the African-American unemployment rate rose to 14.4 percent, from 13.6 percent in May. The national rate was unchanged from 8.2 percent.
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits fell by 14,000 in the week ending June 30 to 374,000, its lowest level since mid-May. Experts often consider such drop-offs good news because they signal that there have been fewer layoffs.
