June Unemployment Rates Rise for Women Across Racial Groups, Fall for Men

Unemployment rates among white, black and Hispanic women rose in June, in line with broader economic trends, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.

White adult women saw a slight increase in unemployment, from 3.0% in May to 3.1% in June. Black women saw their unemployment rate increase from 5.2% to 5.7%, while Hispanic women saw an increase from 4.1% to 4.5%.

Overall, the national unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, from 4.0% last month.

In contrast, unemployment rates for men in all three racial groups declined. The rate for white men fell to 3.2 percent from 3.4 percent, for Hispanic men to 4.2 percent from 4.7 percent, and for black men to 6.1 percent from 6.4 percent, although black men continue to face the highest unemployment rates among these groups.

Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said: “While we have seen significant gains for women in the post-pandemic labor market, June was a setback. Interestingly, this increase in female unemployment coincided with job growth in the health and social care sectors, traditionally female-dominated fields.”

The unemployment rate for white workers held steady at 3.5%. For Hispanic workers, it fell to 4.9% from 5%, while for African Americans it rose to 6.3% from 6.1%. The rate for Asian Americans increased to 4.1% from 3.1%, although gender-specific data for Asian workers was not available.

The labor force participation rate, which represents the percentage of the population employed or actively seeking work, increased slightly to 62.6% from 62.5% in May. The rate remained steady for white workers but fell to 62.7% from 62.9% for African Americans. In contrast, participation rates for Asian and Hispanic workers increased to 65.9% from 65.3% and to 67.5% from 67.3%, respectively.