March 29, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Lowest unemployment rates in decades at end of 1999
The U.S.
unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 1999—a
30-year low. The rate had been 4.4 percent at the end of 1998.
[Chart data—TXT]
Workers in most major demographic groups benefited from improvements in
the job market in 1999. The unemployment rate for adult women fell from
4.0 percent to 3.6 percent between the fourth quarters of 1998 and 1999,
compared to a decline from 3.6 percent to 3.4 percent for adult men—the
rate for women was the lowest in 31 years, while the rate for men was the
lowest in 26 years.
The unemployment rate of teens improved slightly in 1999, finishing the
year at 13.8 percent. The teenage unemployment rate had not been this low
since the early 1970s.
The unemployment rate for whites ended the year at a three-decade low
of 3.5 percent. For Hispanics, the unemployment rate reached a record low
of 6.1 percent at the end of 1999. The black unemployment rate finished
the year at 8.1 percent, a rate lower than any recorded prior to 1999.
These data are a product of the Current
Population Survey. To find out more, see "The job market remains
strong in 1999," by Jennifer Martel and Laura A. Kelter, Monthly
Labor Review, February 2000.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »