A sign hangs outside a restaurant looking to hire workers in Miami on May 5, 2023.
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Data released by the US government on Friday showed that the unemployment rate among black women fell in February as the number of job seekers increased.
The U.S. unemployment rate rose last month to 3.9% from 3.7% in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. Women ages 20 and older in the labor force followed the trend, with the unemployment rate rising to 3.5% from 3.2%.
However, the percentage of unemployed black women fell to 4.4% from 4.8%. This comes as the group's labor force participation rate – which measures the number of workers currently employed or looking for work – rose to 63.4% from 62.9%.
The labor market is showing positive signs for Black women, said Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute's Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy. It indicated a decrease in the unemployment rate, while the employment-to-population ratio rose to 60.6% from 59.9%.
“Things seem to be going in an unambiguously positive direction,” she told CNBC.
As for why the group has been able to reverse the trend, Wilson said it may be due to specific industries that added jobs last month.
“We have seen increases in health care and government services, sectors where we see a large number of Black women working,” she said. “The fact that these two sectors added jobs and had the highest job growth last month may be a factor in the increased participation rate and lower unemployment rate.”
For Latina women, the unemployment rate rose to 5% from 4.3%.
Overall, with the unemployment rate still below 4%, this month's report paints a picture of a strong labor market, Wilson said.
“At this point, with the unemployment rate low, you're not going to get huge shifts as long as that growth remains positive on the grid,” she said. While it is still possible that economists will see slight movements from month to month, at the current pace of job growth in the United States, the labor market should remain stable and consistent.
— CNBC's Gabriel Curtis contributed to this report.
