June 03, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Families and unemployment, 2007

In 2007, the share of families with an unemployed member was 6.3 percent, little changed from the prior year.

Families with at least one member who was unemployed, by race and Hispanic ethnicity, 2006 and 2007 (percent)
[Chart data—TXT]

The proportion of families with an unemployed member remained lower than the recent peak of 8.1 percent in 2003.

The proportion of black families with an unemployed member was 10.8 percent in 2007, about twice the proportion among white (5.6 percent) and Asian (5.4 percent) families. Among Hispanic families, 8.5 percent had an unemployed member.

The proportions of white and Asian families with an unemployed member showed little or no change from 2006. The proportion of black families with an unemployed member edged down in 2007, while the percentage of Hispanic families with an unemployed member in 2007 edged up over the year.

In 2007, 4.9 million families had at least one member who was unemployed, unchanged from 2006.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see “Employment Characteristics of Families in 2007,� USDL news release 08-0731.

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