WASHINGTON (AP) - The unemployment rate for recent veterans jumped in November, but for a positive reason.
Many of the veterans decided to begin actively seeking work - and if they didn’t immediately find a job, they were counted as unemployed. A growing perception that opportunities are growing to find work is an encouraging sign for the job market.
The unemployment rate for people who have served in the armed forces anytime since 2001 jumped to 5 percent in March from 3.3 percent in February.
The jobless rates for Asians and for people of Hispanic ethnicity ticked up slightly. The rate edged lower for younger workers in their early 20s and for those without a high school diploma.
All told, employers added a modest 103,000 jobs in March. The 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) | March 2018 | February 2018 | March 2017 |
| White | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| Black | 6.9 | 6.9 | 8.0 |
| Asian | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity** | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| Adult men | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.2 |
| Adult women | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| Teenagers | 13.5 | 14.4 | 13.6 |
| 20-24 years old | 6.6 | 6.8 | 7.3 |
| 25-54 years old | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| 55 and over | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan* | 5.0 | 3.3 | 5.0 |
| No high school diploma | 5.5 | 5.7 | 6.6 |
| High school graduate | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
| Some college | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| College graduate | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| Duration of Unemployment: | |||
| Average length (weeks) | 24.1 | 22.9 | 25.4 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct.) | 20.3 | 20.7 | 23.4 |
| *Not seasonally adjusted | |||
| **Includes all races | |||
| Source: Labor Department |
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