WASHINGTON (AP) - The unemployment rate for recent veterans jumped in November, but for a good reason.
Many decided to come off the sidelines and begin actively seeking work - and if they didn’t immediately find it, they were counted as unemployed. A growing perception that it’s worth looking for a job is an encouraging sign.
The jobless rate for those who have served in the armed forces anytime since 2001 jumped to 4.6 percent in November from 3.6 percent in October.
By contrast, the unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma fell, but largely because many stopped looking for work and so were no longer counted as unemployed.
All told, employers added 228,000 jobs in November. The overall unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent.
The data for demographic groups came from a survey of households that is part of the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
| Unemployment rate by group: | |||
| (Numbers in percentages) | November 2017 | October 2017 | November 2016 |
| White | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.2 |
| Black | 7.3 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| Asian | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity** | 4.7 | 4.8 | 5.7 |
| Adult men | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.3 |
| Adult women | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
| Teenagers | 15.9 | 13.7 | 15.2 |
| 20-24 years old | 7.2 | 7.2 | 8.1 |
| 25-54 years old | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 55 and over | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan* | 4.6 | 3.6 | 6.5 |
| No high school diploma | 5.2 | 5.7 | 7.9 |
| High school graduate | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.9 |
| Some college | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| College graduate | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
| Duration of Unemployment: | |||
| Average length (weeks) | 25.4 | 26.0 | 24.4 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct.) | 23.8 | 24.8 | 24.7 |
| *Not seasonally adjusted | |||
| **Includes all races | |||
| Source: Labor Department |
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