WASHINGTON (AP) - The unemployment rate for Americans of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity fell to 4.5 percent in September, matching a record low hit in July. At the same time, the jobless rate for white Americans edged down to 3.3 percent, their lowest level since December 1969.
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a total of 134,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate reached 3.7 percent, its lowest point in nearly five decades. Americans from a wide range of demographic groups have benefited from the longest streak of hiring on record.
The jobless rate for prime-age workers - ages 25 to 54 - declined to 3 percent. That’s the lowest figure since December 2000. And Americans with only a high school diploma recorded their best unemployment rate since 2001.
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) | September 2018 | August 2018 | September 2017 |
| White | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| Black | 6.0 | 6.3 | 7.0 |
| Asian | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity* | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.1 |
| Adult men | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Adult women | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
| Teenagers | 12.8 | 12.8 | 13.0 |
| 20-24 years old | 6.9 | 6.8 | 7.6 |
| 25-54 years old | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
| 55 and over | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan* | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| No high school diploma | 5.5 | 5.7 | 6.7 |
| High school graduate | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
| Some college | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| College graduate | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Duration of Unemployment: | |||
| Average length (weeks) | 24.0 | 22.6 | 26.6 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct.) | 22.9 | 21.5 | 25.5 |
| *Includes all races | |||
| Source: Labor Department | |||
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