Jobless rate rises for Latina workers but labor force participation rises for men

Latinos' unemployment rate in June showed a contrasting picture, with the rate rising for women and dropping for men, according to figures from the Department of Labor.

Concretely, the jobless rate for Latinas rose from 4.1% to 4.5 and that of men dropped from 4.7% to 4.2%. The general unemployment rate fell from 5% to 4.9%, higher than Whites (3.5%) and Asians (3.1%) but lower than Blacks (6.3%).

Overall, the labor force participation rate (that is, the percentage of the population that is either employed or actively seeking work) climbed 0.1 percentage point to 62.6%.

Total nonfarm payrolls increase by 206,000 last month, a little higher than expected, with the general unemployment rate changing little at 4.1%. Job gains mostly occurred in government, health care, social assistance, and construction.

"In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $35.00. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9 percent. In June, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $30.05," the report added.

The economy added 272,000 jobs in June, exceeding all expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Health care, government, leisure and hospitality and "professional" services were the areas with the most gains. The average gain of the past 12 months had been 232,000, the June figure taking the average to 220,000.

Economists believe that a decreased hiring should contribute to keep cooling inflation as employers stop offering more money to prospective hires. Fewer people who are employed are looking to change their posts, while the rate of people quitting has help steady for six month.