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Last week, the United States Department of Labor released new jobs numbers for September. While Black unemployment decreased slightly, there has been growth in job placement for Black men overall.

RELATED: Unemployment Rate Falls To 6-Year Low At 5.9 Percent

There is still a staggering lack of jobs for Blacks, and the unemployment rate for Black men rose to 11 percent last month. However, there was a gain of 68.5 percent of Black men employed or looking for work from 67.3 percent, which is calculated by the labor force participation rate. Of all the major work groups, Black men were the only group to show that its labor force participation rate increased.

In comparison, White men’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent from 4.8 percent last month with a lowered labor force rate of 71.9 percent after sitting at 72.2 percent.

What this signals is that Black male job seekers are making greater strides in changing their predicament.

The unemployment rate for Black women now sits at 9.6 percent last month after sitting at 10.6 in August. White women’s unemployment rate stayed the same at 4.8 percent. There were slight gains in jobs and women looking for work among both Blacks and Whites.

The numbers are matching a steady trend of joblessness reduction and growth within the economy. Job seekers are confident again that they’ll be hired, thus increasing participation rates. Last month, the national unemployment rate hit its lowest in six years after marking 5.9 percent after sitting at 6.1 in August. In the past month, over 200,000 jobs were created.

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