December 09, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment rate up in November

The unemployment rate rose to 6.0 percent in November, a level most recently reached in April. From May through October, the jobless rate remained within a range of 5.6 to 5.9 percent.

Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, November 2001–November 2002
[Chart data—TXT]

In November, the unemployment rate for adult men rose by half a percentage point to 5.7 percent; rates for blacks (11.0 percent) and teenagers (16.8 percent) also were up over the month. The jobless rates for adult women (5.0 percent), whites (5.2 percent), and Hispanics (7.8 percent) showed little or no change.

The data in this report are from the Current Population Survey. Data in this article are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see The Employment Situation: November 2002 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-680.