February 06, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment down in January

The number of unemployed persons fell to 7.0 million in January 2006, and the unemployment rate decreased to 4.7 percent, seasonally adjusted.

[Chart data—TXT]

The unemployment rate had ranged from 4.9 to 5.1 percent during most of 2005.

The jobless rate for adult men declined to 4.0 percent in January. For other major worker groups—adult women (4.3 percent), teenagers (15.3 percent), whites (4.1 percent), blacks (8.9 percent), and Hispanics (5.8 percent)—unemployment rates were essentially unchanged.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "The Employment Situation: January 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-160.