Hispanic Unemployment Drops to Lowest Level Ever

Unemployment among Hispanic Americans fell to the lowest level ever recorded in September.

The Hispanic unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the month, down from 4.2 percent in the month prior, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. A year ago, the rate was 4.5 percent. It was 5.9 percent at the conclusion of President Barack Obama’s final year in office.

Prior to Trump’s presidency, the Hispanic unemployment rate had almost never dipped below 5 percent. The only recorded instance was at the height of the housing bubble when it fell to 4.8 percent in October 2006 and then climbed back in the following month.

The unemployment rate for Hispanic men twenty years and older also set a new record in September, falling to 3.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis and 2.5 percent unadjusted. The unemployment rate for Hispanic women was 3.8 percent, matching record lows set this summer.