Hispanic unemployment fell in September

The U.S. unemployment rate held steady in September but fell among Hispanic workers, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department.

September’s nonfarm payrolls report showed a solid month with higher numbers across the board. The economy added 336,000 jobs last month, beating the estimate of 170,000 among economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate was steady at 3.8%, slightly above the forecast of 3.7%.

Among Latinos, the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% from 4.9%. In the breakdown, it fell to 4.3% from 4.4% among Hispanic women and remained steady at 4.3% for Latinos.

At the same time, the labor force participation rate, which measures the share of people working or actively looking for work in the population, rose to 67.3% from 67.1% in August.

The combination of falling unemployment and rising labor force participation is the “best of both worlds” for the group, according to Michelle Holder, associate professor of economics at John Jay College in New York.

“Hispanics — with this report — have done quite well, and growth in leisure and hospitality jobs may partly explain that,” she said, noting that this population tends to be overrepresented in the sector.

Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, called the data on Hispanic workers a “soft sign” of an improving labor market, but cautioned that reading too much into the monthly figures could be volatile.

The unemployment rate among Hispanic workers continues to lag behind that of white and Asian workers, at 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. Still, Gould said, it marks a stark contrast to the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the group experienced its highest unemployment rate.

“It shows the resilience of the labor market,” she said. “Even with interest rates going up, to be able to stay strong, and for them to stay strong for so long, you’re really pulling a lot of historically marginalized groups back into the labor market.”

However, the unemployment rate among black workers rose to 5.7% from 5.3% in August. Among black men, the unemployment rate increased to 5.6% from 5%, and among black women it decreased to 4.5% from 4.7%.

Despite these discrepancies, Gould noted that the unemployment rate for this group is indeed hovering around last year’s level and remains well below pre-pandemic levels.

“I always take pause when I see black unemployment rising, but on the other hand, we’ve seen some volatility in the black unemployment rate over the last few months,” Holder said.

In a breakdown, the employment rate for Hispanic men rose to 79.5% from 79.2% in August and remained steady at 61.8% among Hispanic women.

Labor force participation also rose among black workers, increasing to 62.9% from 62.6% in August. For black men, the labor force participation rate rose to 68.6% from 68.4%, and among black women it fell to 62.6% from 62.7%.

— CNBC’s Gabriel Cortez reported.