March 13, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment rate in February 2007

In February, the number of unemployed persons (6.9 million) and the unemployment rate (4.5 percent) were essentially unchanged.

Unemployment rate, February 2006-February 2007
[Chart data—TXT]

The jobless rate has remained within a narrow range—4.4 to 4.6 percent—since September 2006.

The unemployment rate for Hispanics (5.2 percent) edged down in February. The rates for the other major worker groups—adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), teenagers (14.9 percent), whites (4.0 percent), and blacks (7.9 percent)—showed little or no change. 

These data are from the Current Population Survey program and are seasonally adjusted. More information can be found in "The Employment Situation: February 2007," (PDF) (TXT) news release USDL 07-0340.

Related TED article:

Happy 10th Birthday, TED!

The very first issue of The Editor's Desk (TED) was posted on September 28, 1998. TED was the first online-only publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 10 years, BLS has been committed to posting a new TED article each business day, for a total of over 2,400 articles so far.

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