African-American Male Worker Jobless Rate Under Obama Regime: 16.1 Percent In February

The official “not-seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for African-American male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States under the Democratic Obama Administration increased from 15.8 percent to 16.1 percent between January 2009 and February 2009; while the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for African-American male workers increased from 14.1 percent to 14.9 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The “not-seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all African-American workers increased from 13.4 percent to 13.8 percent during this same period; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all African-American workers increased to 13.4 percent.

For all U.S. workers over 20 years-of-age, the “not-seasonally adjusted” jobless rate jumped from 8.5 percent to 8.9 percent between January 2009 and February 2009; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all U.S. workers increased to 8.1 percent.

The “not-seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white male workers also increased from 8.3 percent to 9 percent between January 2009 and February 2009. In addition, the “not-seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Hispanic or Latino male workers increased from 11 percent to 12.1 percent between January 2009 and February 2009.

Between January 2009 and February 2009, the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for African-American youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 36.5 percent to 38.8 percent; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age was 19.1 percent.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ March 6, 2009 press release:

“The number of unemployed persons increased by 851,000 to 12.5 million in February…

“Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs increased by 716,000 to 7.7 million in February…

“The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more)increased by 270,000 to 2.9 million in February…

“In February, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) rose by 787,000,reaching 8.6 million…This category includes persons who would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs…

“There were 731,000 discouraged workers in February…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them…

“Total nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 651,000 in February…

“Employment in professional and business services fell by 180,000 in February. The temporary help industry lost 78,000 jobs over the month….In February, job declines also occurred in services to buildings and dwellings (-17,000), architectural and engineering services (-16,000), and business support services (-12,000).

“Widespread job losses continued in manufacturing in February (-168,000). The majority of the decline occurred in durable goods industries (-132,000), with the largest decreases in fabricated metal products (-28,000) and machinery (-25,000). Employment in nondurable goods manufacturing declined by 36,000 over the month.

“The construction industry lost 104,000 jobs in February…

“Employment in truck transportation declined by 33,000 in February…The information industry continued to lose jobs (-15,000)…

“Employment in financial activities continued to decline in February (-44,000).... In February, job losses occurred in real estate (-11,000); credit intermediation(-11,000); and securities, commodity contracts, and investments (-8,000).

“Retail trade employment fell by 40,000 over the month…In February, employment decreased in automobile dealerships (-9,000), sporting goods (-9,000), furniture and homefurnishing stores (-8,000), and building material and garden supply stores(-7,000). Employment in wholesale trade fell by 37,000 over the month,with nearly all of the decline occurring in durable goods.

“Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend down over the month (-33,000), with about half of the decrease in the accommodation industry (-18,000)…”