Why It's Good the Unemployment Rate Ticked Up

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• Pa mwayen: Joelle Gamble • Septanm 7, 2022

In August, the U.S. economy added 315,000 jobs, bringing the 3-month average to 378,000 jobs. The private sector added 308,000 jobs. Every sector saw job gains, with the largest gains in professional and business services (+68,000), health care (+48,000) and retail trade (+44,000). With this report, the wholesale trade sector fully recovered.

The unemployment rate rose for a positive reason – more unemployed workers began seeking jobs.

In August, the labor force participation increased to 62.4% after stagnating for several months. This increase in participation led to a slight increase in the unemployment rate, now at 3.7%. This rise was a positive sign – Americans who were not employed and not looking for work began to look for work, becoming classified as unemployed. (Unemployed persons must be actively looking for work to be counted in the primary measure of the unemployment rate.)

Notably, the prime-age (25-54 years old) employment to population ratio recovered, particularly the employment-to-population ratio for prime-age women. And prime-age women’s labor force participation rate now exceeds its February 2020 point. This is one month of data that we hope will become a trend.

Change in Force Labor Participation Rate, February 2020 to August 2020. The chart shows the dramatic drop in labor force participation for both prime-age men and prime-age women from February 2020 to April 2020 due to the pandemic, followed by slow by steady increasing labor force participation for both men and women up until August 2022. Prime-age women's labor force participation has completely recovered and prime-age men's participation is nearly recovered from its pandemic low.

Change in Labor Force Participation Rate, February 2020 to August 2022 - accessible version

Racial unemployment gaps persist

Disaggregating labor market data by race and gender is important for getting a fuller picture of labor market outcomes and for advancing policy designed to uplift all of America. The Department continues this commitment with the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s publication of two new monthly data series: labor market indicators for Americans of two or more races and indicators for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders. (Learn more here.) Additionally, the gaps within unemployment rates by race and gender persist, including in the August jobs data, even as workers of all races get jobs and labor force participation improves.

Chart comparing the unemployment rate by race and gender in January 2021 and August 2022, including the national average, Black men, white men, Hispanic men, Asian men, Black women, white women, Hispanic women and Asian women. The rate has decreased in all categories during this time period..

Unemployment Rate by Race and Gender chart - accessible version

Labor market outcomes for Black and brown workers are correlated with the business cycle, though not completely determined by them. These inequities underscore the importance of investing in economic growth that is shared, including through the investments made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. At the Department of Labor, an equitable recovery and an equitable labor market are top priorities, from enforcing the federal laws targeting unfair and discriminatory practices to promoting pathways to good-paying jobs for everyone through the Good Jobs Initiative.

Joelle Gamble is the chief economist for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Change in Labor Force Participation Rate, February 2020 to August 2022 - accessible version. Note that the data are indexed, and February 2020 equals 100.

Change in Labor Force Participation Rate, February 2020 to August 2022 - accessible version
Date	Men	Women	Prime-age men	Prime-age women
February 2020	100	100	100	100
March 2020	98.98989899	98.61830743	99.77578475	98.95968791
April 2020	95.38239538	93.95509499	96.86098655	95.5786736
May 2020	96.24819625	95.16407599	97.75784753	96.6189857
June 2020	97.11399711	97.06390328	98.43049327	97.91937581
July 2020	96.82539683	97.23661485	98.0941704	97.65929779
August 2020	97.54689755	96.71848014	98.5426009	97.39921977
September 2020	97.4025974	96.20034542	98.31838565	96.74902471
October 2020	97.69119769	96.89119171	98.43049327	97.26918075
November 2020	97.25829726	96.71848014	97.86995516	97.00910273
December 2020	97.25829726	96.54576857	97.98206278	97.13914174
January 2021	97.4025974	95.85492228	98.20627803	97.13914174
February 2021	97.25829726	96.54576857	98.20627803	97.39921977
March 2021	97.11399711	97.063903	98.20627803	97.7893368
April 2021	97.54689755	96.37305699	98.5426009	97.65929779
May 2021	97.4025974	96.37305699	98.5426009	97.52925878
June 2021	97.54689755	97.23661485	98.76681614	98.04941482
July 2021	97.54689755	97.40932642	98.99103139	98.30949285
August 2021	97.69119769	96.89119171	98.99103139	98.04941482
September 2021	97.69119769	96.71848014	98.87892377	97.91937581
October 2021	97.69119769	97.23661485	98.76681614	98.04941482
November 2021	97.83549784	97.40932642	98.87892377	98.43953186
December 2021	97.69119769	97.40932642	98.65470852	98.69960988
January 2022	97.97979798	97.75474957	98.87892377	98.82964889
February 2022	98.55699856	97.75474957	99.55156951	98.56957087
March 2022	98.55699856	98.27288428	99.43946188	99.47984395
April 2022	98.12409812	97.582038	99.43946188	99.08972692
May 2022	98.12409812	98.10017271	99.43946188	99.60988296
June 2022	97.83549784	98.44559585	99.10313901	99.34980494
July 2022	97.54689755	98.61830743	99.10313901	99.34980494
August 2022	97.83549784	98.61830743	99.32735426	100.390117

Unemployment Rate by Race and Gender, accessible version

Unemployment Rate by Race and Gender, accessible version
National Average	Black men		Hispanic men	Asian men	Black women	White women	Hispanic women	Asian women
January 2021	6.4	9.4	5.5	7.6	5.7	8.5	5.2	8.8	7.9
August 2022	3.7	6	3.1	3.9	2.7	5.9	2.8	4.3	3.1

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