January 12, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Demographics of unemployment, December 2003

The unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in December. The rate continued to edge down from a recent high in June 2003.

[Chart data—TXT]

In December, the unemployment rates for adult men (5.3 percent) and Hispanics or Latinos (6.6 percent) declined from the previous month. 

The jobless rates for the other major worker groups—adult women (5.1 percent), teenagers (16.1 percent), whites (5.0 percent), and blacks (10.3 percent)—showed little or no change from the previous month.

These data come from the Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of households. Data in this article are seasonally adjusted. For more December 2003 unemployment and employment statistics, see "The Employment Situation: December 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-7.