May 06, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment rate rose in April

In April, the unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage point to 6.0 percent. Since its recent low of 3.9 percent in October 2000, the jobless rate has increased by 2.1 percentage points, and the number of unemployed persons has risen by 3.1 million.

Unemployment rates, March-April 2002 (seasonally adjusted)
[Chart data—TXT]

The unemployment rate for adult women rose by 0.4 percentage point over the month, and the rate for adult men edged up. Both rates were 5.4 percent in April. 

The jobless rate for whites increased by 0.3 percentage point to 5.3 percent. The jobless rates of the other major worker groups—teenagers 16.8 percent), blacks (11.2 percent), and Hispanics (7.9 percent)—showed little change in April.

These data are a product of the Current Population Survey. The above figures are seasonally adjusted. Find out more in "The Employment Situation: April 2002," news release USDL 02-255.

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