More Black Men Have Jobs Than Ever Before, Unemployment Rate Holds at Lowest Level Ever

The unemployment rate for black men remained at the lowest level ever in November.

The economy added 266,000 jobs in the month, far more than expected. Black men over 20 picked up 14,000 of those jobs, according to Labor Department data released Friday. That matched in increase in the civilian labor force for that cohort.

As a result, the unemployment rate for black men stayed at the all-time low of 5.1 percent hit in October.

The total number of black men employed in the U.S. rose to a seasonally adjusted 9,014,000, the highest on record. The total black male civilian labor force is comprised of just under 9.5 million individuals. The labor force participation rate held steady at 68 percent.

The unemployment rate for black women ticked up a notch to 4.9 percent but remains near its recent record low of 4.8 percent.

The combined unemployment rate for black men, women, and young people between 16 and 19 is a 5.5 percent, a tick above the all-time low of 5.4 percent hit last month.